I do not own Harry Potter, only the OC
Hello guys, Badger here. How are you all today. Are you good? I know I am. I have a new chapter up for you lot today. You seemed to enjoy Azkaban being burned down to the ground and this chapter takes place immediatley afterwards. This chapter took longer to write then it should have done, mainly because I have been feeling very exhausted lately. Anyway, read on, enjoy and I will see you at the end.
Chapter 67
A Duelling Club?
The atmosphere was thick with tension, as the Trio made their way into the Great Hall. As soon as they entered, everyone turned to look at them. Daphne was confused, and turned to Tracey Davis, as they sat down at the Slytherin Table.
"What's going on?" She asked
"Take a look for yourself" Tracey replied, handing her the Daily Prophet
The trio looked at the headline, which covered the entire front page of the Prophet:
Massacre at Azkaban!:
That's right readers, words don't deceive you. Late, last evening, a group of Death Eaters, including Michael Badger and Barty Crouch Jr, came to Azkaban to free You-Know-Whose followers that were locked up over ten years ago. Those that were freed include: Rookwood, Pettigrew, and Bellatrix LeStrange, along with her husband and brother-in-law. Almost every guard and Auror posted at Azkaban were killed, before the prison was brought to the ground, in flames. One of the Aurors, gravely injured, arrived to the Ministry, informing the Minister and Head of the DMLE, before they died from the severity of their injuries. The location of the Death Eaters and the Dark Lord is unknown, but the Minister has placed a bounty on each one of those that were freed. For more information, turn to page 5.
"Dear Merlin" Daphne whispered, as she looked at the image of Azkaban burnt down to the ground "I didn't think it was possible"
"Neither did I" Tracey replied "The Ministry has apparently lost their heads trying to do something about this"
"James, what do you think of this?" Harry asked, only to see his friend wasn't there
James was making his way to the Gryffindor Table, where Neville was glaring murderously at the paper in front of him. James knew why, he seen LeStrange's name labelled on the paper.
"Neville, do you want to talk about it?" He asked
"There isn't much I can say James" Neville replied, not looking away from the paper "I want to kill her…she tortured my parents until their minds just went"
"I know Neville" James said "though I don't think you should, claiming vengeance on someone isn't a good idea…it will poison you"
"You plan to kill your uncle don't you?" Neville asked, looking up at him
"Touché" James sighed, after a moment
James understood what Neville was saying. James had every intention of killing his uncle. James won't deny it, he is out for blood. In a way, he was a hypocrite.
"Come and sit with us Neville" James continued "Take your mind off of the Prophet"
Neville looked at the Prophet for a moment, before he nodded and followed James to the Slytherin Table. The Twins, along with Ginny, Luna and Susan also made their way over, Luna and Susan hugging their boyfriends before they sat down.
"Read the Prophet then?" Susan asked
"Yes" Harry nodded "I'm not sure what to think about it all"
"Things are pretty tense in the Ministry, according to dad" Fred said
"How bad?" Harry winced
"Very" Susan replied "Security has tripled and Aurors are more alert then ever…2000 people were killed, and that was only the other prisoners, that weren't Death Eaters, caught in the flames and there were a few hundred guards, at least"
As the others were talking, James observed the Great Hall. Though it wasn't obvious at first, many students were sending glances there way.
"Why are the others looking at us?" He asked
"The attack has everyone scared" Luna replied, burying her head in his shoulder, the dreamy tone of her voice gone "and everyone seems to be in agreement that we need to be taught proper Defence"
"Okay…what does that have to do with the stares?" Harry asked
"Well, it's not exactly secret that you and James have private lessons" Ginny replied, looking up from her plate
"I see" James said, as realisation came to him "They want us to teach them?"
"Yes" Neville nodded "I heard a few students talking about it…and I agree…Defence, and Umbridge, is a joke…do you think you can teach us?"
James could see a few Slytherin students, and a few from Ravenclaw, leaned forward in their seats awaiting an answer. James ignored it, and looked to Harry.
"It's your call Harry" He said "What do you think?"
"Well…I don't think Umbridge will like a secret group learning spells" Harry replied "But…Lockhart, though he was an idiot, got permission from Dumbledore to start a Duelling Club…I wonder if we could do something similar?"
"That's not a bad idea" Daphne said "We will need to have a professor to run the club, of course…Professor Flitwick may be interested, he was a Duelling Champion before he started teaching at Hogwarts"
"With how enthusiastic he is at teaching Charms, I'm sure he would be honoured to help run a Duelling Club" James replied "Me and Harry can ask him after our next charms lesson"
…
Snape soon found himself back in the room, Lord Voldemort sat on his throne. In front of him, dozens were dozens of malnourished, frail people, dressed in Azkaban rags. He saw the Daily Prophet. He knew who they were.
"Ah, Severus, you received my summons, good" Voldemort said, silkily "I'm sure you have read the Prophet…tell me…how are things looking?"
"The Ministry have almost tripled the security, with extra patrols in areas like Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade, my lord" Snape replied, bowing on one knee "Many are afraid of another attack, especially the students in Hogwarts…Dumbledore is the only one who seems to be calm, he seems to have a plan, but has not informed me of anything"
"Hmm" Voldemort said, after a moment "Dumbledore always believes he is one step ahead of everyone else…that will be his downfall…now, what of Potter, have you been able to weaken his mind shields?"
"I try to my lord" Snape lied, not looking at him in the eyes "However, every time he arrives for a new lesson, his mind shields are back up and stronger then before…I suspect his friend, Badger, is helping him in private"
"Well we can't have that" Voldemort replied smoothly "You better find a way to lower his shields, allowing me to enter his mind, through our link"
"Yes, my lord" Snape
"Now, onto more pressing matters" Voldemort stood, gesturing to the former Azkaban residents "As I'm sure you can probably tell, our friends are free…however, prolonged effects of the Dementors and malnourishment has made them unfit to be out on the frontlines…I want you to give each of them the required treatment…I want each of them up and standing by the end of next week"
"Yes my lord" Snape replied
This was going to be a long night.
…
James and Harry stayed behind, as the other students filed out of the Charms classroom. Professor Flitwick was getting ready for the next lesson, when he saw them standing by his desk.
"Mr Potter, Mr Badger" He said, in his signature squeaky voice "Was there something you wanted?"
"Yes sir" Harry replied "We were wondering if we could start a Duelling Club…as a former Duelling Champion, we believed you would be on board with the idea and get permission from Professor Dumbledore"
"I see" Flitwick mused "Is this because of the latest article in the Daily Prophet?"
"Partially" James replied "It's mainly because Defence, this year, is a joke and Umbridge couldn't teach a Flobberworm"
"Hmm" Flitwick hummed, not bothering to deny it "Okay, Mr Badger, Mr Potter, I'll talk to Professor Dumbledore after classes today"
…
I don't think Umbridge is going to be happy.
When it came to planning the Order of the Phoenix, I was never sure how it would play out: whether they would make a secret group or get permission for a Duelling Club. I eventually went with the second option, because almost every Fanfic I have read, they've always done the secret group. I thought this will be more interesting.
That is all for now. Usually I have more to say, but I am hyper, it's hard to concentrate and I am getting tired. It's difficult looking at my computer screen at the moment. I hope you enjoyed the new chapter and I will see you in the next one.
Badger out.
