To my eternal surprise it was perhaps two weeks after that day in my classroom that the so called 'Golden Trio' was once again darkening my doorstep, only this time the doorstep of my personal rooms. It was a Saturday and I'd only just gotten up the will to get out of bed, still wearing the plaid pajama set that I'd bothered to buy the last time I was near a muggle shopping center. The book I'd been reading was clutched in one hand, my second cup of coffee for the day in the other. From the looks on their faces it was obvious they were thinking a retreat might be in order, Ron especially. Before they could back out I sighed and waved them in,

"Well come on, don't just stand outside."

The Doctor was gone at the moment, his portrait left humming that gentle sound of the TARDIS. I had never been more grateful to Severus Snape than when I couldn't sleep and I was able to just sit next to the painting and listen to the ambient sounds of that wonderful box that had been both home and escape. Now it was mostly ignored by the kids as they settled in onto the mismatched chairs around the room. I sat on the desk, beside where Hermione was perched on the desk chair clutching the small cup of tea I'd provided. All of them held an air of awkward to them and I was torn between letting them stew and forcing the conversation to move along. The three were having some sort of silent communication, apparently continuing an old argument right up to the end of the line. Eventually it was Hermione who gave in, huffing,

"Oh, grow up you two." She turned to me, a fire burning in her eyes that told me yes, she would have made a damn fine companion if she were ever given the chance. "We came here to ask for your help."

I stirred the potion that was brewing on a rickety looking table at the edge of my living room with a slight twirl of my fingers, letting it give off a loud whistling sound and send up bits of lavender smoke as I raised an eyebrow.

"My help? What could you need help with, there aren't any bit assignments due for any of your classes that I'm aware of."

Ron made a face that told me he disagreed, muttering under his breath something about HIstory of Magic and bloody goblin rebellions before Hermione cut him off with a look. When she turned back to me she motioned to Harry vaguely, who blushed down to the roots of his hair as she spoke.

"With setting up our...club of sorts. Harry here has agreed to teach Defense to students who will agree to the secrecy of it all."

Harry seemed to be bracing himself for teasing, or some sort of derogatory comment so instead I shrugged with one shoulder,

"Seems like a sound idea, you have a knack for evading the dark even when you aren't properly equipped or trained for the situation. Nothing really outstripps good old ingenuity."

I put the mug down beside me, empty now, and then looked back up at the three teenagers who had invaded my rooms.

"But that doesn't tell me what you need help with. I mean, you could need a teacher to sponsor your club but Flitwick would be a better bet in the end, he was a dueling champion anyway."

Hermione just huffed,

"This can't be an official club, you saw what Umbridge was like, outlawing all sorts of things and Dumbledore not able to do anything about it. What we need is maybe some help with the setting up, and keeping out of trouble, as well as a place to meet."

Ron piped up, appearing hopeful from his seat on the footstool of the armchair Harry had beaten him to upon their arrival.

"I suggested we use your classroom, that way if we're caught we can just say you gave us all detention, and that way she couldn't touch us but Hermione said that wouldn't be good for you."

I mulled it over for a second before shaking my head.

"Probably not, she'd realize what was going on and likely find a way to undermine us, most likely by getting me fired somehow. I don't have the cleanest record you know. At best I would be deported, at worst there's a cell in Azkaban with my name on it, 'treason' if they figure out what I've been doing at the ministry, citizen or not."

The three were pale at that point, Ron shaking his head emphatically,

"So no classroom then."

"No. But…"

The room of requirement was what they used last time, but was it the only option? And honestly, was I really supposed to know of it's existence? The only reasons they could possibly need it in the future were scenarios that went along with the war continuing as it had before, with Harry hunting horcruxes and Dumbledore's Army fighting Death Eaters at Hogwarts. Theoretically they would never need it now that I'd changed so much. Then again, it was useful to them. And honestly where else could they find that no one else knew the location of, or that could get into? Wait...hold on.

"Where in the castle is a location that you know how to get to, that you feel no one else does?"

They exchanged meaningful looks until Harry spoke up,

"There's the Shrieking Shack. We could ferry them out to Hogsmeade, but the time it would take would put a dent in the time we would have for practice. And up our chances of getting caught, I'm sure."

"So that's a no then, where else?"

"Um...there are plenty of hidden places we've been, I'm sure, but most of them are just hidden in the traditional sense."

Here he whipped out the Marauder's Map, which from the other's reactions they were aware I knew of it, and started pointing out places. I slipped off the desk to look over his shoulder at it, eyes finding the second floor and grinning when there was nothing so much as hinting at a secret place on the second floor.

I tapped on the image of the bathroom that held the ghost of a girl from fifty years ago,

"Thought Ron said there was a teacher that hexed himself in some dingy chamber around here, where's the chamber? Does it not show up on the map for some reason?"
The three of them froze and then the other two leapt to look at the map, Ron groaning after a second,

"But, but, that would be horrible, how are we supposed to even...we can't!" He looked slightly triumphant after a second, "We can't because parts of the place collapsed and there was no way out besides a Phoenix, and I can't see Fawkes taking us out three at a time each time we meet."

I gave him a funny look,

"Or I could transfigure some stairs?"

He deflated once again and Hermione seemed to be thinking hard enough to almost burst a blood vessel. I turned to Harry,

"You opened it with Parseltongue, correct? Could you say the word that opened it?"
I was cheating a bit here, but the moment he managed to get the word to come out in the right language I parroted it back, purposefully accenting it slightly, though not taking from the meaning. The other two teenagers were looking at me wide eyed and I just looked back at Harry smugly.

"That's a language that can be taught, it doesn't have to be bred in, I think. Most likely the reason no one has learned is because all the other descendents haven't bothered trying to teach it, assuming themselves special or something. Harry here can teach others, Lieutenants if you will, how to open the chamber. That way someone different can set up, and someone different can close, each night and there's less of a chance of any single person being caught doing it."

The idea was only half formed when I pitched it to the kids but Hermione truly was the brightest witch of her age, running with it the moment her metaphorical feet hit the ground.

"Oh, just think of it Harry! There's an entire language to be learned that no one else can speak, or divine! Well, only Voldemort, but he isn't exactly here right now, is he?"

When she finally got off that soapbox, that we had let her go on about with fond looks on our faces, she turned to me and held out a Galleon, going into her spellwork on it and now that I actually knew what it was and the intricacies of casting it I was suitably impressed.

"Well done, this is amazing. I had thought of doing some perception filters, that is, some spellwork that would keep you guys from being noticed and when you mentioned your messenger coin I'd hoped they could be added to it, but this is entirely too delicate and precise to meddle with."

She practically glowed under the praise before jumping into scheming with me, leaving the boys to look on in confusion.

"Professor, how would this...perception filter work?"

"Let's just go with Mara when we're scheming in private, alright? And think of it as an ultimate 'notice me not' enchantment. I'm thinking we can experiment with some that can be activated as sorts of...invisibility cloaks only with eyes just skittering off someone or accepting that they're there and not thinking anything of it. It would work to help people get to and from the meetings. But that would take entirely too many enchantments for an object small enough to carry easily on their person easily and still last. So instead how about we work with the wards?"

"You mean restrict access unless they have a coin?"
"Sort of, I mean adding in a different object, such as a friendship bracelet of sorts. The wards around the second floor would activate after a certain time, keeping people away, like a muggle repelling charm, unless they were in contact with the bracelet or whatever. That way patrols will avoid it, but think that they patrolled there, and the people getting there won't be caught near the actual meeting point, if they managed to get caught at all."

She ran with the experiment straight to the library. It was three days before I saw her again without her nose pressed in a book. She didn't pay attention during my class, but it wasn't like I could fault her for it, it was a project I had given her after all. That third day she came to my office on her own, the boys apparently off doing something quidditch related. I welcomed her in and she took a seat, setting out the pages and beginning almost before I could start to read what they contained.

"I had those already involved sign a contract, but the fallout from breaking it wouldn't extend to giving up their charm because the charms didn't exist when the contract is made. So to close that little security hole I thought we could tune the charm with someone's magic, since blood is a bit dark when you get down to it."

We got to working on the runestones almost immediately, with Hermione recruiting Fred and George to make a Wednesday trip to Hogsmeade in order to pick up appropriate supplies. Some people we would ask to present their own necklace or bracelet to enchant so that everyone wasn't wearing something that matched, which could give us all away, but identical ones to test on and some for Harry and myself who had nothing non-precious to enchant in the first place wouldn't go amiss.

It took a week and a half to get it all finalized, and that was mostly because we had to scratch all of it and start over once we realized it would all work on humans but that Mrs. Norris was a giant pain in the ass who existed. I was able to help tighten it by testing it on myself in animagus form, to be sure that wasn't a loophole. We were pretty sure Umbridge wasn't an animagus, but no detail was to be overlooked.

A lot of the planning and testing happened in either my classroom or my office, and it was during this time that I slipped in the fact that my floo was unmonitored because of my finagling with the wards, planting the idea in their heads just in case things went the way they had before despite my best efforts. It was during that same session that Ron posed the interesting query of how they were supposed to know if someone got caught without hearing it from them and knowing to be cautious the next time or something. There were all sorts of ways that could go wrong, and it was Harry pointing to the Marauder's Map that sparked an argument between himself and Hermione.

"Harry, we can't possibly know if they were confronted or not, and then let go, with suspicions following them, or if they escaped, until it may be too late! The map is useful, but it cannot be the only backup we have!"

I, meanwhile, was doing some scans of the map. It was an ingenious bit of spellwork, but it was made by school children. School children who likely had little to no idea they'd accidentally connected the map to the wards of the castle in order to get those kinds of accurate readings. It sparked an idea somewhere that had me pulling up blank parchment and throwing as many of the enchantments I could feel from the map as possible at it.

The students stopped their bickering and turned to watch as it formed, style different, more my handwriting than a hodgepodge of four teenage boys, but there. The particular wording that allowed it to mimic the castle was stolen, making it less of a great piece of enchantment and more of a farce, but time was not on my side. Instead of connecting it to the lifesigns of the wards I instead reached for the jumble of charms that laid on my desk, recently given power and attached to the wards of the second floor. The jumble of charms appeared as lights on the map and I tilted the paper to show it to them.

"What we have here is a bastardization of that lovely piece of magic you have, and it shows the charms. I'll name them each in a bit, based on the labels we already have on the charms, that way we'll know if someone drops theirs, where it is, and if they get it confiscated. We'll be able to steal it back that way as well, hopefully before anyone cracks into the enchantments."

As I made the changes to show the names of the charms on the map I couldn't help but wonder why no one had attempted to copy the map before coming to the conclusion that they had. The twins would likely have tried a geminus spell to duplicate it so they would each have one, but it would have resisted the various forms of it because that was built into it's magic. There was a defense against copying it, but not against making a completely new one with the same spells. More or less.

Several times I caught them speaking in low tones about how this sort of charm would work wonders on security within the Order, but they dropped off the moment I was close, subject changes random and sometimes almost impressively smooth.

The next issue was cleaning out the Chamber of Secrets. I was left to do this mostly on my own because the kids had homework and other obligations such as quidditch. Really it was in my best interests to do it alone, because then I could get Zoopy to help. I took the time to explain to Zoopy that we had to pretend we hadn't been there before, and then get him to help me enchant the slide so that it was an escalator whenever someone said certain key words over it. Cleaning was infinitely easier with the help of a house elf, as was smuggling out the Basilisk and all it's parts.

After communicating with Harry over it we decided to sell the parts on the black market and use the proceeds to help Dumbledore's Army, as well as the kids in it. There was now a rather scary large fund in place to help anyone in the little club should they be having issues. From school books and bail money, to holey socks they were now covered. When I pointed out to Harry the money was really his since he slayed the Basilisk he turned red and pointed out that I risked life and limb to sell it in some of the sleaziest places on Earth.

For the handing out of the Galleons and trinkets we needed to get some people away in private, I was able to do this by assigning a project and then doing individual consultations by picking names out of a hat. Randomosity doesn't exist when one can do wandless nonverbal magic, but hey, they believed me. And I threw in a few real consultations for those that actually needed help as well, just to throw people off. Some had detention with other teachers that I snagged, others I got myself for more or less legitimate reasons. A few of those I included weren't necessarily part of it yet, just prospects, one in particular that I was going to have to fight for.

I stopped him before the detention where a trinket would be made for him, and the others would be introduced to him, keeping him before he left class.

"Mister Malfoy, could I see you for a second?"

Long ago he had stopped having a house member wait for him outside, knowing that any conversation of ours was going to be no danger to him and would likely turn into a debate that would outlast their minute patience. This time he looked nervous, fidgeting with piece of parchment that had the evenings assignment on it, glancing at the door.

"I can't stay long Professor, I have Umbridge next."

I winced in sympathy before nodding,

"I let everyone out early so that I'd have enough time to talk to you, and worst comes to worst I'll take you there and be your walking talking excuse note. For now I have a question for you."

I waited a second for him to stop fidgeting before leaning forwards in my seat,

"Do you truly believe that Light will fall to the Dark in this war?"

He stuttered for a second, trying to go for haughty, drawing himself up to his full height before meeting my unimpressed gaze and deflating a bit, eyes darting to the still open door. With a thought I snapped it closed, wards already in place, but he didn't know that of course.

He looked at me warily now, shrugging one shoulder.

"I think that Potter has some ridiculous luck...and that the light has a few reasonably powerful people fighting for it." Draco looked out the window for a second before glancing back at me, "But I also think that the Dark Lord is insane, and insanely powerful. He won't care if the fight will cost him too much, he just wants the destruction. He doesn't think he can lose, and that's probably what will cause his defeat. But the light is going to lose so much in the battles, that no one will really win in the end."

It was more honesty than I could have hoped for, and remarkably similar to what had happened in the story that I'd read in another world. Before I could respond he continued, turning his body back to me and giving me his full attention.

"I think you could make the difference, you know. Wandless magic, warding spells with little effort, a brilliant mind. Whatever side you choose, the scales will tip in their favour, I'm sure of it."

I snorted,

"I'm flattered you think so, I really am, but what makes you think that I haven't chosen a side yet?"

He raised an eyebrow,

"So you have? He-who-must-not-be-named doesn't think so."

My blood ran cold and I could practically hear it rushing through my veins, thundering along louder than the Hungarian Horntail had roared. I kept my breath from stuttering only barely and fixed Draco with a curious look.

"You've heard him speak of me specifically?"

He twitched uncomfortably, eyeing the door again before responding.

"Professor...I like you, I do. You're my favorite teacher aside from my Godfather, and I want to tell you these things, but I could be killed! My family could be killed, I can't just...I've said too much already as it is."

I dug around in my desk for a second before tossing the panicking child a chocolate frog.

"Relax, he won't kill your family, think about it. They've got just the kind of funds that he needs to keep his war going, and he can't get to it if they're dead. As far as he's concerned both of them are loyal to the core, you as well. No one suspects you, and if they do suspect you they'll comfort your parents about it and expect it to be a fluke, not the rule. You don't have to tell me anything that you know, hell, I didn't stop you with the purpose of interrogating you, I just wanted you to join our little pseudo vigilante group to drive Umbridge out of her fucking gord and help you people pass your Defense OWLs."

He blinked, first at the frog, then at me.

"What?"
I sighed,

"There's a defense club, meeting in secret, we've got a badass hideout and everything. It's only for learning Defense Against the Dark Arts, since Umbridge isn't teaching dick. You can't talk about it, and you'll have to sneak around at night, but do you really think you guys can pass OWL's with the bullshit she's teaching you?"

He struggled with it for a second before sighing explosively, tugging at the strap to his bag and looking at me with the saddest expression I'd seen on his face yet.

"There's more to this than just learning, isn't it?"
"Well I already said it was to drive Umbridge out of her gord, didn't I? It's a rebellion, a low-key sort of thing, but a rebellion all the same. If you don't want to be involved then that's fine, I understand. But the future is bleak and we need to stand together or Voldemort's madness is going to drown all of us in rivers of innocent blood. Now if you'd like to get in on the Anarchy then show up for detention here, tonight at six, say it was for attitude."

He left quickly and I expected that to be the end of it. It wasn't. That night the room was filled with chattering students, hardly the usual atmosphere for detention, and there was a stir of a familiar presence at the wards. I snapped my fingers and the room went quiet to watch the door creak open, Draco Malfoy walking in, clutching his bag against his shoulder with one hand, his wand in the other, looking vaguely terrified. Every Gryffindor in the room leapt to their feet, wands pointing his way and before they could blink those wands were laid out in a neat row on my desk. I scowled at them,

"Sit down, that's no way to treat someone." I smiled at him, motioning him to a desk near the front. "Everyone take a seat, let's get this started."

The glares directed at Malfoy didn't die down, and I had to clear my throat twice to get everyone's attention again. When I finally had it I glowered at the room,

"Every single person in here is present because they dislike the resident ministry hag and how she operates. Every person here agrees that war is upon us and ignoring it is no way to live to see another day. Every person here is preparing to take up arms to defend themselves or their families, and there is no exception. If I invited someone here then I have taken a good long look into their hearts and decided that their intentions are trustworthy. Look around. This isn't the entirety of the group that will become Dumbledore's Army, but it's a good number."

I stood up, pointing to the hogwarts crest that was set into the stone of the wall beside my desk,

"Hogwarts is made of four houses, and each house has their merits. There is no such thing as a bad house, there are only bad apples."

Someone snorted and I singled them out, making eye contact,

"Think it's funny? Yes, Voldemort was a Slytherin, but there have been countless serial killers from Ravenclaw, betrayers from Gryffindor, and murderers from Hufflepuff. For the love of God, people, it's a school club. It represents the strongest characteristic that someone has chosen to acknowledge within themselves at age eleven. Who here is the exact same mental maturity as when they were eleven, huh? I should hope none of you. This unconditional hatred between houses is childish, and it's exactly what Voldemort stands for."

Someone opened their mouth to protest and I held up a hand,

"He teaches to hate muggleborns, people here teach younger generations to hate Slytherins as the most evil beings society has to offer, to look down on Hufflepuffs as weak, to see Ravenclaws as cold and calculating, and to see Gryffindors as empty headed neanderthals."

I spread my arms out as if to encompass the school,

"Well I hate to tell you, but that's all wrong. Moaning Myrtle was a Slytherin, does she look evil to you? She's tied to the land of the living by the strength of how much it hurt to be bullied. Cedric Diggory was a Hufflepuff, and he stood his own against a freakin' dragon and countless other creatures in the lake and the maze. Luna Lovegood is a Ravenclaw, and one of the sweetest girls I've ever had the honor to meet. Last but not least, Gryffindor has some intelligent folks. I dare any of you to walk up to Professor McGonagall and tell her she's all brawn and no brain. Go for it, I dare ya."

Some of them looked uncomfortable so I dropped back into my seat and flicked my hand at the bucket on top of my bag, the Galleons handing themselves out.

"So let's drop the pettiness, shall we? Everyone deserves the chance to learn how to fight for their lives. The people beside you shall be your comrades in arms, at the very least theoretically. So if you're done acting like children we can get down to business."

Hermione stepped forwards and helped me explain the charms and the Galleons, some stepping forwards to have necklaces or rings they wore everyday enchanted, Draco Malfoy being the last one in the room after everyone had filtered out once getting the starting day for the DA. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were still at my desk, Harry and Ron retrieving their wands like the others had before them. Harry leaned forwards,

"Are you sure about him?"

I rolled my eyes, leaning forwards conspiratorially,

"Oh, I've got these wolf-like instincts, can practically smell lies on people. I think I know when someone is genuine."

His eyes went wide for half a second and he nodded, taking the insinuated half-lie at face value before gathering his friends and leaving, shooting Malfoy a lingering, considering look.

Draco watched them go before stepping forwards,

"I...I don't have anything to charm, if you let me have one."

"Of course you can have one, you signed the agreement, you're a full member."

I brought out a small box from the depths of my desk, flipping open the lid,

"Here, pick something."

In the end it was a small amulet, a necklace. It was a dragon, wings spread in and mouth open in a silent roar. It was light, made of some type of cheap silver, easily tucked underneath clothes. I half smiled as I tapped my wand to it a few times.

"A dragon for Draco, a bit ironic don't you think?"
He smiled back, hesitantly pulling it over his head.

"Are you...are you sure this is a good idea?"
"The DA?"

"No, letting me in it?"

"Psh, of course it is. We'll earn one another's loyalty soon enough. Till then, I have faith in you."

The first meeting of the DA was happening on a Saturday night, where if they were caught while working the bugs out of the trip to 'headquarters' it wasn't such a big deal as being caught on a school night.

As I was waiting for the first group to arrive I fixed the map of glowing colors to the wall and let it be a centerpiece, though you couldn't see most of it. From there I activated the runestone I'd affixed beside it, like a lightswitch, and the 3D model popped into being, the charms not there as we were all down in the unmappable Chamber of Secrets. It was a badass base, and it would set a dark sort of tone until we got to laughing and having fun. There were lights and food, and I had Zoopy help me sneak in the dummies from the Room of Requirement as well as a few shelves of books.

The DA was different in my time than from the books or movies. It became...more. True it was an 'army' before, with die hard followers, but this time it branched out. There were study groups that would meet there, safe from persecution, and there were books and shelves and tables in small corners used for research purposes. It became less of an army, and more of a family. Draco Malfoy was invited along with a study group by the Hufflepuffs, and the group grew that Thursday night until most of the DA was working on third year charms. Luna was fluttering about the center of it all, soaking up the company. She took to Draco faster than the others, as I expected, and he reacted better to her than what I thought. He entertained most of her whimsical ideas, and even helping her build along them.

Most of the DA weren't sure what to make of me. That first night they were expecting me to teach, to take charge, and were summarily surprised when I handed the reigns over to Harry.

"Here he's the teacher."

For most of the lessons I was right there beside them, learning as well. When anyone asked why I didn't know a spell I would simply imply that it had been a while since I'd been in school, and that I hadn't been practicing as I should have. Oh, there were times when Harry gave the floor to me, half-remembered tales from the Doctor surfacing in his mind and coaxing him to convince me that some strange skill was needed.

Some muggle fighting was taught, little tidbits I'd picked up from Torchwood, as well as starting their education in a more complicated direction. There was an occlumency group that met, mostly being made up of the 'Lieutenants' that I had suggested, one of which was Draco Malfoy, being the only Slytherin we had at the time. It was then that Harry revealed he was taking similar lessons from Severus, which were going nowhere. He also unloaded his frustration with the Headmaster, who was ignoring him. I got a lot of confessions from him, enough that I could actually feasibly put together what I already knew in a way that would be acceptable to whoever wanted to know how I came up with shit.

Things were moving right along, until something that I had forgotten resurfaced, and Harry came to my class with his hand covered in a bandage, soaked in blood.

~TimeLordOfPie