LAST TIME
The ink melted into the page, leaving it blank.
"Woah, the names were erased!" Dennis exclaimed.
"Not erased, merely hidden. They will reveal themselves if we give a password… or, more accurately, if I give the password." Harry said, before hissing and the signs appeared again.
"You are using Parseltongue!" Justin exclaimed and Harry rolled his eyes.
"Parseltongue is just a language like Mermish and Troll, Justin. And no, before you ask, this is a standard information hiding charm that I used and I put the password in Parseltongue. You can find the charm in the Advanced Guide of Charms by Hugh Fitzperus." Harry lied. In actuality, he had used an advanced parselmagic version of the spell. He was pretty sure that once the spell activated, even the Unspeakables would have a problem revealing what was written on the parchment
As each person signed their name on the parchment, Harry felt the tingle of magic, binding them to the contract.
In the end, all forty-nine of them had signed their names. Not a single person had backed out, even if Smith and Edgecombe looked on the verge of doing so.
In Harry's eyes, it was a very successful meeting.
Ch.58 The Dragon Legion Reborn
9th October 1995
Gryffindor towers, Hogwarts
Harry woke up with a yawn and stretched lazily, releasing the kinks in his joints. The first streams of sunlight were already filtering through the curtains into the dorm. Usually, he was up before dawn but last night he had overstretched his limits of staying awake. First, the order meeting had gone on till late in the night as they discussed plans on how to storm Azkaban.
Then, the Hogwarts folks had used the time turner to go back five hours instead of the normal two or two and a half as they didn't want their absence from the school to be noted. After they had returned, Harry stayed with Dumbledore and told him about the meeting in the Three Broomsticks.
After leaving Dumbledore's office, he had apparated straight into the Chamber to meet Helga and Salazar and informed them of the order meeting that had just taken place, giving them each and every detail. They had brainstormed further, thinking of betterments to the raw plan that the order had formed.
Harry had also spent time doing complicated calculations in order to tweak the organ-failing-curse, to act slower than the standard version. The standard version took a total of thirty seconds to act unless the counter curse was performed in the first ten seconds, which would stop the curse. Harry tweaked the curse to take a total of six minutes to kill the victim and also changed the spell's matrix so that the counter-curse for standard curse would not save the victims.
Why lengthen the curse time? Simple, as soon as a prisoner died, alarms would start blaring through the prison, drawing the attention of the Aurors. And they had several prisoners to kill. Thirty-nine to be precise. They would need time.
Once he left, Harry had decided to try and tweak it even more later when he got time throughout the month. Even two or three minutes more would be precious for them to escape without being seen. He had needed to reuse the time turner for the third time that day to relive the evening as the spell tweaking had taken more than three hours. After going back to Gryffindor Tower, he did his homework and stayed up for as long as he could before going to bed.
Harry thanked his stars that he had the luxury to add two hours to his sleeping schedule as he had foregone the morning exercise and study session. He also had the first period free but he would probably use that time to fly around the Quidditch field.
He got out of bed and saw that Neville and Dean were already up.
"You woke up late today," Dean yawned.
"I was tired yesterday. So I decided to sleep in." Harry shrugged.
"I still think you're bonkers to wake up so early."
Harry rolled his eyes before gathering the required stuff to get ready for the Monday ahead of him.
When Harry went down from his dorms into the common room with Neville and Ron, he instantly noticed a crowd gathering near the notice board and the brand new sign that hung there.
"Oh no, not another one of her ridiculous decrees," Neville moaned.
"Let's see what it's about," Harry said before pushing through the crowd to read the notice.
— By Order Of —
The High Inquisitor of Hogwarts
All Student Organizations, Societies, Teams, Groups, and Clubs are henceforth disbanded. An Organization, Society, Team, Group, or Club is hereby defined as a regular meeting of three or more students.
Permission to re-form may be sought from the High Inquisitor (Professor Umbridge).
No Student Organization, Society, Team, Group, or Club may exist without the knowledge and approval of the High Inquisitor.
Any student found to have formed, or to belong to, an Organization, Society, Team, Group, or Club that has not been approved by the High Inquisitor will be expelled.
The above is in accordance with Educational Decree Number Twenty-four.
Signed
Dolores Jane Umbridge
High Inquisitor
Beside him, Neville and Ron paled.
"Harry," Neville began but Harry held a hand up stopping him before rereading the notice twice.
He smirked before pulling them aside and erecting a privacy dome.
"Harry?"
"Spread the word. No one must be in the Great Hall or classes today. Spread the word that Umbridge is seeking to expel as many students as she can."
"Who would believe that?" Ron asked incredulously.
"Everyone. After all, more than three people meet for classes, and the great hall for meals."
"But not everyone would listen to that. It is a common assumption that classes and meals won't be included in that!"
"In politics, assumption is very bad business Neville, and a deadly weapon. Also, we don't need everyone to believe it. A large part of Gryffindor and Hufflepuff would be enough."
"But Harry, this also means Umbridge has caught wind of—"
"Yes, I know. But that is not important. Just spread the word. Make sure that at least three-quarters of Gryffindors stay behind. I'll tell Ced and Susan to do the same for Hufflepuff. And try to get the word to the claws as well."
Saying so, Harry swished his wand, conjuring two pieces of parchment with the required messages on them. "Dobby!"
The elf appeared a moment later and Harry instructed him to take the messages to Cedric and Susan as Neville and Ron talked loudly in the common room making sure the group of second years and third years heard them.
"Ron!" Harry called and he came jogging to him. "Use your prefect powers to tell students that they are not to go to classes and meals. Say you are enforcing the latest decree by the High Inquisitor. Tell Hermione the same."
"Alright," Ron said before doing as Harry had asked.
Harry breathed deeply, centering his thoughts. If all went according to his plan, the decree would be scrapped by the end of the day.
"Fred!" Harry called as he descended down the steps.
"Yes, Harrykins?"
"Where's George?"
"Wearing his boots. He'll be down in a sec. Why?"
Harry gestured for him to come near before explaining the whole situation.
"Alright, we will spread the word more!" Fred said just as George came towards them.
"I also need you to bring food for the kids, alright? We can't let them go hungry. I would've called the elves but, it is better if you two do it."
"Alright," Fred said.
"Wait, what is happening?" George asked.
"Fred'll tell you. Get to work!" Harry said before jogging out of the common room. He would need help to implement what he wanted to. And he had two perfect people for that. Minerva McGonagall and Filius Flitwick.
And then, he had a letter to write. To Rita Skeeter. It was time to use the press to create pressure for the decree to be retracted, and hopefully, through Skeeter's poisonous quill… the position of the High Inquisitor as well.
9th October 1995
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Halfway through the third period, or when the students were supposed to be attending the third period, the Announcement system chimed.
"Hem, hem" Umbridge's irritating cough heralded the start of the announcement. "This is Professor Dolores Umbridge, High Inquisitor of Hogwarts speaking. All students who are currently not attending a class must report immediately to the Great Hall. I repeat, all students, who are currently not attending a class, must report immediately to the Great Hall. Failure to do so will result in immediate expulsion from the school."
Harry snapped his fingers, gaining all the Gryffindor prefects' attention, and gestured for them to start moving.
His plan, so far, was a massive success. Only a few odd Gryffindors had gone for classes and more than seventy percent of Hufflepuffs had stayed behind as well, heeding Cedric and Susan. So, it was almost forty-five to fifty percent of the school who hadn't attended classes, adding into consideration that even a decent number of Ravenclaws had gotten the message.
The Gryffindor house rushed through the corridors being led by prefects towards the Great Hall with Harry amongst them.
As soon as he entered the Great Hall, Harry spotted Umbridge standing in the front of the staff table. The four heads of the houses were there as well, along with Dumbledore.
Dumbledore and Umbridge's eyes instantly roamed around the gaggle of students. Dumbledore found Harry first and caught his eye, looking at him questioningly.
In response, Harry sent him a Legilimency message. 'Sit back and enjoy the drama'
Dumbledore raised his eyebrows slightly before his eyes twinkled.
That was when Harry felt the gaze of Dolores Umbridge on him. Despite her looking haggard, her cheeks sunken and her eyes bloodshot, her gaze was predatory and malicious.
In response, Harry smirked at her, throwing her off before promptly ignoring her and engaging in a conversation with Neville.
Ten minutes later, once everyone, or what looked to be everyone who hadn't attended the classes arrived, Umbridge took the podium.
"Hem, hem" She began in her usual annoying fashion. "Good Morning students. You all have been called here because it was noted that you all failed to attend the morning classes, both the first two and now it looks like you are bunking the third lecture of the day as well. Skipping classes is unacceptable. I do not know what tomfoolery prompted you to do this, but now, you all shall have detention with me this evening and every evening for this week for bunking classes."
Instantly, a tsunami of protests erupted from the gathered students who were protesting against the unfair punishment.
After letting the protest continue for a few moments and seeing that Umbridge was too incompetent to get the students to stop, Professor McGonagall stepped forth and let out a loud bang from her wand.
"SILENCE!" She shouted, silencing the hall. "Thank you. Now, can one of you step forth and perhaps explain why there was a mass bunk from classes today?"
That was when Harry stepped forth from his position directly in front of the professors, having wisely chosen his standing position before.
"Yes, Mr. Potter. Please enlighten us as to why you all performed a mass bunk." McGonagall said while Umbridge's eyes narrowed at him.
"It wasn't a mass bunk, professor," Harry replied.
"Then, what do you call half of the school not attending lectures, Potter?" Umbridge snapped shrilly.
"Following the rules, Professor Umbridge."
"Following— Following the rules? Have you perhaps fallen on your head, Potter?"
"Of course not."
"Then how is bunking class following the rules?" Umbridge yelled.
"This morning a new rule was implemented proclaiming, and I quote, All Student Organizations, Societies, Teams, Groups, and Clubs are henceforth disbanded. We were just following the new rule."
"That rule is for Organizations, societies, clubs, and such. Not Classes, you idiotic boy!"
"Quoting the text of educational decree number twenty-four, An Organization, Society, Team, Group, or Club is hereby defined as a regular meeting of three or more students. Forgive me if I am wrong but more than three students meet in every lecture, hence falling under the definition of Organization, Society, Team, Group, or Club as per the decree. And so do meals, common room activities, Quidditch, and such" Harry said calmly. "So, respectfully, it is not my fault that classes were taken to fall under the rule, but the incompetent idiot who worded the definition and the other idiots who approved it."
There was a wave of snickering from the students assembled as Umbridge sputtered, her face turning red.
"So, unfortunately, until the High Inquisitor, that is you, officially approves all the classes for each individual year and house, we cannot attend them in the fear of expulsion. We are only following the rules, ma'am."
"Mr. Potter is right, Dolores. They are only following the rules that you made." Dumbledore said, much to Umbridge's further annoyment. "So, five points to everyone who followed the decree diligently."
Suddenly, an avalanche of gems fell into the points Hourglasses of Gryffindor and Hufflepuff houses, instantly putting them in a massive lead against Slytherin and Ravenclaw, much to Snape's and, unfortunately, Professor Flitwick's indignation who had only got a handful of students not attending the lectures.
"And Dolores, it would be for the best if the decree is scrapped with immediate effect. We wouldn't want students missing the rest of the classes for the day and nor can we keep them hungry as meals too will fall under that definition that you have made." Dumbledore suggested, with firmness in his voice
Umbridge sputtered, even more, looking ready to lose her shit and shout at Dumbledore but she composed herself at the last moment, taking a deep breath.
"Alright, by my order, the Educational Decree number twenty-four is hereby suspended for the time being until a few things can be rectified." She replied stiffly, looking like she had swallowed a lemon and yet, looking like she wanted nothing more in the world than to disintegrate Harry and Dumbledore where they stood.
There was a wave of cheers from the students at the announcement, much to her further chagrin.
"Excellent!" Dumbledore said, beaming. "Students, now you all may return to your common rooms, or if you prefer, stay here as there are only a few minutes left before Lunchtime. You all must attend the afternoon and evening lectures after Lunch is over."
"Madame Umbridge," Harry said loudly, gaining her and the crowd's attention. "Should we also assume that the detention you gave us for following the rules is also revoked? It is just good to confirm things."
"Yes," Umbridge grounded out. "The detention is also revoked."
Harry grinned. "Wonderful. Thank you, Professors."
One part of the plan accomplished… now to twist the knife even further… but that was for Rita Skeeter to do. Not him.
9th October 1995
British Ministry of Magic, London
Cornelius Fudge slammed his fist on the desk, making Umbridge flinch violently at the sound.
"WHAT IS THIS DOLORES? YOU HAD ONE JOB!" He roared with fury, pointing to the evening prophet whose Headlines were clearly visible.
NEW EDUCATION DECREE BY MINISTRY FOR HOGWARTS REVOKED DUE TO MISTAKES
IS THE MINISTRY BEING A TYRANT TO CHILDREN?
WHAT IS THE TRUTH BEHIND THE POSITION OF THE HIGH INQUISITOR?
"M-Minister, I am not sure how this happened." She stuttered, wringing her hands nervously. "But I am sure that the Potter boy and Dumbledore are behind this!"
"Of course they are," Fudge scoffed. "You knew whom you were dealing with. I had clearly told you to be careful while dealing with them. And this mistake? This is a rookie mistake, Dolores, and an idiotic one at that!"
"I-I assure you I will amend it, Minister. I will—"
"Absolutely not!" He roared. "That decree is scrapped and let it remain so! It is a school, Dolores. They are children! You cannot revoke clubs and teams! Read this article. It is already calling us a tyrant. Skeeter even got some quotes from students. INCLUDING POTTER!"
He thrust the paper at Umbridge, pointing aggressively at the required part.
Lord Harry James Potter, the hero of the wizarding world, who is also a student at Hogwarts also gave his views regarding this. He says, "Despite whatever the Ministry has claimed, Dolores Umbridge is utterly incompetent as a teacher, especially for a subject which requires a great amount of competency as the Defense Against the Dark Arts. She is not fit to teach, and much less evaluate how things are run at Hogwarts, much less have so much power in the school. Also, I feel the intention of the ministry for interfering at Hogwarts is not exactly what they are telling them to be, but a lot more… malicious."
Hearing the strong words of the boy-who-lived, I requested him to elaborate his point. What he said shocked me to the core.
"Well, more than one alarming instance has taken place this year even before today's fiasco that suggests this. For instance, on the second day of the term, Dolores Umbridge stormed into the Great hall, demanding why I didn't attend the fifth-year class for DADA. When I, along with Professor McGonagall, explained to her why exactly I was not attending the class, which was because I had already passed my OWLs in the summer, finding no reason to hold myself back."
For our readers, I would add that Harry Potter did not only pass his OWLs but has aced them. He has broken records in more than one subject and has all O's and O+'s only. His results, straight from the office of Griselda Marchbank, have also been printed.
But instead of being impressed like we all are, Dolores Umbridge reacted in quite the opposite manner, giving a glimpse of what may be her true intentions, as Lord Potter narrates.
"Madame Umbridge, on hearing this, proclaimed that, and I quote, 'Cornelius(Minister Fudge) would never allow this!'. This statement was made by her in the great hall with several students present, no less. But, it did get me thinking. Why is the Minister actively interfering at Hogwarts and as Madame Umbridge said, restricting students from progressing and being the best witches and wizards they can be? It is certainly something to think about. After all, why would he want to keep young witches and wizards, who are the future of tomorrow, weak?"
It is indeed something to think about, dear readers. The Daily Prophet would keep you all up to date with whatever it will find!
But, for now, that is not all dear readers. Harry Potter had even more to say!
"The following week, just after Dolores Umbridge was made the high inquisitor, the Educational Decree number three was passed. A decree which indirectly only applied to me and forced me to attend the class for Defense Against the Dark Arts for the OWL year, whose exam I had already passed."
He continued by saying, "It was alright till I actually attended the class and realized that an hour and half of my life was going to be wasted every week, attending the class. All she did was asked us to put our wands away and read the stupid book that she has assigned. On top of it, she openly said that she won't allow us to practice magic. Now, correct me if I am wrong, but a subject like DADA cannot be studied by just reading books. Practice is vital for it. When we students questioned her regarding it, she was dismissive of our concerns saying that, and I quote, 'there is nothing out there in the real world, Mr. Potter, and nothing would attack us.' When I pointed out about the attacks at the ministry and the Quidditch World cup last year, she gave me detention."
I have myself interviewed several students to get to the roots of this matter and it turns out that everything Lord Potter says was indeed true. So, it does raise the question, as to why is the ministry doing what it is and also curbing the freedom of speech by handing out punishments for speaking the truth. It also puts a huge question mark on the issues which were raised by Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter and dismissed by the ministry. Could they be indeed telling the truth?
Umbridge clutched the paper tightly, crumpling it, making her picture self run away from the frame of the photo.
"Do you see, Dolores? Do you see what Potter has done with a single article in the prophet through Rita Skeeter? Our hard work of the past three months of smearing his name through subtle jabs and trying to prove him delusional are all gone to waste. WITH ONE ARTICLE!" Fudge fumed slamming his palm on the mahogany desk again, rattling the table lamp and other items on it.
"Yes, Minister. The Potter boy is trouble. I have been trying my best to—"
"Then try harder! Because whatever you are doing is clearly not working!" He snapped. "You do not understand Dolores. This is bigger than you think. Our efforts today will save the wizarding world tomorrow. There is a reason why I so desperately want to reduce Potter and Dumbledore's influence. Despite me being the Minister of magic their reputation and power surpass mine by a large margin individually. You need to do better, Dolores. It is essential."
Umbridge nodded obediently. "Yes, Minister. I will."
"Good," Fudge breathed. "Abandon that decree. Do not antagonize students but try to befriend them. Increase your influence in the castle if you cannot decrease theirs."
"But Minister, those children—"
"Yes, yes," Fudge interrupted. "I am well aware of your grievances with the children. But there ought to be some good ones in the castle. I have heard that Lucius Malfoy's son, Draco, is in the same year as Potter and they don't get along well. Use the boy and his friends. Bring them under your power and provide them the necessary means to get Potter in enough trouble to get expelled."
Umbridge beamed, "That is a brilliant idea, Minister! I will implement it immediately!"
Fudge shook his head. "No, Dolores. Wait for this blunder to cool down. Give it two-three weeks at least before passing any new decree. And yes, make sure to scrap this ridiculousness. I will try to mitigate the fallout in the meantime."
"As you say, Minister."
"Thank you. Now you should go back to Hogwarts." He suggested.
Once she left, he slumped into his chair and massaged his forehead trying to calm the raging headache. It was unbelievable how much trouble Potter had caused him with a single article and Skeeter had just added fuel to that fire.
For now, he had to run damage control. Percy Weasley, Merlin bless the boy, was already keeping the press at bay and had cleverly calmed them for the moment. But he would still have to answer them soon. Before the next day's Evening Prophet was published in fact.
He had a lot of work to do.
11th October 1995
The Room of Requirement, Hogwarts
Harry sat on a chair in the Room of Requirement, waiting for the DADA group to arrive. A few people were already there aside from the main group that he had trained over the summer. To pass time, he was flipping through one of the books that the room had provided, titled Self-Defensive Spellwork.
The book, while not having any new content for Harry, was actually pretty good for the students. It had all the basic spells for self-defense, that in Harry's opinion, every witch or wizard above seventeen years of age, must be able to perform.
"Whoa," said Dean, staring around, impressed after he entered. "What is this place?"
"Have a seat, Dean. I'll explain once everyone's here. No need to go over the same thing multiple times."
"Alright," Dean said, still looking around the room.
Ten minutes later, at a couple of minutes after half-past seven, Harry willed the doors of the room to shut and lock themselves, ordering it to be impossible to be seen by anyone outside. He had kept a constant eye on the map, despite the fact that he had set repulsion wards keyed specifically to Filch and Umbridge around the whole area.
He stood up from his seat and went to the center of the area where everyone was seated on cushions.
"Good evening everyone. I see you have found this place—"
"It's fantastic!" said Cho, and several people murmured their agreement.
"Hey, Harry, what's this stuff?" asked Dean from the rear of the room, indicating the Sneakoscopes and the Foe-Glass.
"Dark Detectors," said Harry. "Basically they all show when Dark wizards or enemies are around, but you don't want to rely on them too much, they can be fooled quite easily…" He gazed for a moment into the cracked Foe-Glass; shadowy figures were moving around inside it, though none was recognizable. He turned his back on it.
"So— Yes, Hermione?"
"I think we ought to elect a leader," said Hermione.
"Harry Potter's the leader," said a Hufflepuff girl, Perkins or something, at once, looking at Hermione as though she were mad. Harry could see a faint blush on the girl's cheeks and he resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
Fangirls
"Yes, but I think we ought to vote on it properly," said Hermione, unperturbed. "It makes it formal and it gives him authority. So — everyone who thinks Harry ought to be our leader?"
Everybody put up their hands, even Zacharias Smith and Edgecombe, though they did it very half-heartedly.
"Thank you. Now, as— Yes, Luna?" He asked with exasperation as she raised her hand, interrupting him again.
"Shouldn't our group have a name?" She asked dreamily. "A name to the group would promote unity and team spirit, don't you think, Harry Potter?"
"Can we be the Anti-Umbridge League?" said Angelina hopefully.
"Or the Ministry of Magic Are Morons Group?" suggested Fred.
"As fun as those names would be, let us keep a more sensible name," Harry said.
"How about the Dragon Legion?" Neville suggested from his seat and Harry's head whipped around to look at him.
"Wasn't that the group that led the rebellion against Grindelwald?" Some Ravenclaw girl asked.
"Yes," Harry agreed.
"And their leader was Baron Charlus Potter and Baron Arcturus Black. I am sure Harry is related to them somehow."
"Charlus Potter was my Grandfather," He replied. "And, I like that name. It signifies a lot."
"And it would be fitting, won't it?" Cedric asked rhetorically.
"All in favor?" Hermione asked and most of the hands went up. "That's a majority — motion passed!"
"Excellent," Harry said. "Anyone else has some idea or shall we start?"
When no one said anything Harry decided to continue.
"So, as I was saying, welcome to the first session of, as we have named ourselves, Dragon Legion. I have decided to start with the basics. Why? Because if you don't have the basics down, you cannot learn the advanced stuff. And believe me, some of the basic spells are the best. So, we will be starting with a pretty useful spell. The disarming charm, Expelliarmus."
"Oh please," said Zacharias Smith, rolling his eyes and folding his arms. "I don't think Expelliarmus is exactly going to help us against Death Eaters, do you?"
"Oh, it is. Most witches and wizards and by most, I mean more than ninety-five percent are utterly useless without a wand. Once disarmed, they cannot do magic and thus, anything. Also, if you think you can do the spell perfectly, Smith, why don't you come here in the center and demonstrate it against me?"
Smith suddenly lost all the confidence he had, looking around nervously.
"I will let you go first. I won't even move a muscle while you shoot the spell." Harry assured.
Smith nodded reluctantly and walked to the center of the room, his wand held tightly in his hand. Harry stood in front of him without a care.
"Demonstrate, Smith."
"Expelliarmus!"
A red beam of light flew from his wand towards Harry. To the boy's credit, his spell was indeed good and would've disarmed Harry if it hit him properly. Just disarmed. But Harry was not going to let that happen either. He just concentrated on the incoming magic and dissipated it as it hit him. It was a tough technique but it was certainly useful for such small shows of power.
"Decent," Harry said. "It would've disarmed most people. But it wasn't a true Expelliarmus. Let me show you the real spell."
Saying so, Harry just flicked his wand and the red beam flew at Smith, hitting him squarely on his chest, disarming him, and throwing him backward by a good fifteen feet.
As Smith landed with a thud on the floor, Harry caught his wand in his free hand.
"That is what a proper Expelliarmus looks like. Silent, fast, effective, and with the ability to throw your opponent off their feet." Harry lectured. "Now, while it is a basic second-year spell and can be defended against by a simple Protego shield, it doesn't mean that it is useless in a fight. Quite the contrary, in fact. If you combine the right spells and make a spell chain, it will take your opponent down with ease. In a duel, it doesn't matter how impressive or advanced your spells are. What matters is how efficiently you use them. And this goes for all spells."
Saying so, Harry walked to Smith and helped him to his feet, and applied a pain relief charm on him.
"Thank you," He said stiffly.
"No problem. Now, as I said, we will get the basics down first for everyone in this room. I hope you all cooperate with me and we can get all the basic, must-know spells down by the end of this month, that is in three or four sessions. I plan to move on to the advanced type of spells in November. But before that, you all must be perfect with the basic spells. What do I mean by perfect? A perfect spell is a spell cast silently, without wand motion, and sufficiently powered to get the desired result. Are you all with me?"
"YES!" The crowd shouted.
"Thank you. Now, I suppose some of you might already know about silent casting, namely, the seventh years. It is supposed to be in the sixth year syllabus as well, but I don't think Umbridge herself knows how to do that, much less teach."
Many in the crowd snickered at that as the seventh years nodded.
"Then I want you all to work on your speed of casting. Try to cast the spell as rapidly as you can against your partner, while your partner dodges the spells."
"Dodging?" A seventh-year Hufflepuff asked.
"Yes, dodging a spell is the best thing you can do in a duel to defend yourself. If the spell doesn't hit you, it goes useless. As simple as that. And, it doesn't take magic to dodge, saving you precious power and allowing you room for more spells. Now get into pairs, please. Try to partner against someone who is in the same year as you, but preferably from a different house. Quickly. Move it, people!"
It took everyone a couple of minutes to get a partner and stand in positions, so no one was crowding or running around. Harry was pleased to see that most had followed his instructions well.
"Now as for what to do," Harry said, walking between the space formed by the two lines of students. "First, the people standing at my left side will fire Expelliarmus at their opponents. Five times. Aloud, with wand movement, while their opponent will dodge and try not to get disarmed. Then their opponents will do the same. Once their five spells are over, you all will start again. But, this time, no wand movements. Say the spells aloud and cast but do not do the half-circle wand motion for the spell. Seven times. Then the students on the right side will cast. Am I understood?"
Everyone nodded at that.
"Cool. If you or your partner can't get it right, repeat this round till they get it. Once both of you have, move on to the third part. The silent casting. By casting the spell so many times, your magic will be accustomed to firing the spell. So, in this round, you would not do the wand motion nor would you say the spell aloud. You will point your wand at your opponent and cast. Say the spell in your mind. Not aloud. Repeat ten times. Then your opponent will do the same. This round will be repeated till you both get the spell down perfectly. Any questions?"
They all shook their heads.
"Excellent. Now, Cedric and Hermione will help you all, and so will I. We will be going around correcting you if you are doing something wrong. Also, I hope you all know the spell. It is second-year material and we all are third-years and above. Cause if you don't, Merlin help you. It is a quarter to eight right now. I want you all to get this spell down in half an hour as it is a fairly simple spell. After that, we will move on to the stunning spell, Stupefy. But that is for later. Begin!"
An hour and a half later, Harry delightfully slumped on a chair in the common room with a delighted smile on his face. The Dragon Legion's first meeting had been a massive success with every single person in the group mastering the disarming and stunning spell. Silently at that.
Harry had lost count of how many people had told him that it was the best DADA class they had ever attended and looked forward to the next session.
As they left, Harry handed them all a coin. A coin that would show the timing and date of the next meeting and could be used to relay short messages. Whenever something updated, the coin would heat up, alerting all the members to what was happening.
"Well, that was fun," Susan said, collapsing next to him. "What is your take on it?"
"They're good," Harry stated
"No, Harry. While they may be good, you are a great teacher. And that is what makes all the difference." Daphne said, appearing from underneath her invisibility cloak.
He shrugged nonchalantly as Susan jumped.
"You were here the whole time?" She asked.
"Yep. I won't be in every session but since today was the first session, I wanted to see it." Daphne said before taking the seat to Harry's left.
Harry leaned back and willed the seats to merge into a comfortable couch and the room obeyed.
The girls were startled as their seats merged into a couch before they smirked.
"Oooh… someone wants to be naughty," Susan whispered, nipping Harry's ear.
Harry just smirked.
31st October 1995
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Harry Potter could say that he was having a good month, scratch that, a great month. Even Halloween, the day of his parent's death anniversary did little to dampen the elation and the anticipation he was feeling.
Through the four sessions he had taken so far of the Dragon Legion, with the latest one having ended half an hour ago, he could proclaim that the group was progressing wonderfully. Everyone had mastered the basic defensive spells like the Protego charm, the stunning spell, petrification jinx, the banishing charm, Incendio and Aguamenti charms, and the explosion hex, Expulso. They all could cast silently and without wand movements now. Their progress was becoming better with each session. Harry couldn't have been happier as a teacher.
And then, there was anticipation for the first of November. The plan to storm Azkaban and kill the Death Eaters was ready.
Tomorrow, they would levy a huge blow to Voldemort and his forces by killing off his most loyal followers. The day was very important for Harry and the Order of the Phoenix. This was going to be their first move in the war against Voldemort. And a move, which might win them the war.
They had made a lot of preparations for tomorrow to ensure their mission was a success. If anything went wrong, the order had made two fallback plans as well.
As he got ready for bed, smothering his anticipation of what was going to happen the next day, Fawkes flamed into his dormitory and squawked urgently, hoovering in the mid-air.
"Dumbledore wants to see me urgently?" Harry asked and the phoenix nodded.
"Alright, take me to him," Harry said, and immediately Fawkes flew on his shoulder and flamed him straight to Dumbledore's office.
As soon as Harry opened his eyes, he saw Dumbledore was panicking and pale.
"Sir?"
"Harry, Azkaban. Azkaban has been broken into. Voldemort has freed all his Death Eaters!"
AND… DONE!
Hope you all liked the chapter. I updated a week earlier, celebrating 7000+ followers on my fic. Thank you for all the love you have given me and my stories. I hope to continue doing so in the future
A huge thank you to the good samaritan, who wishes to remain anonymous for betaing this chapter at a short notice.
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TheBluePilgrim: Anti-phoenix wards
INFNIT09: Err… it was just a reference bro. No Dr. Strange sorcery coming in here.
Monkey King Omega: I have no expertise in the field of Naruto. So, I am sorry, I can't do it.
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Thank you everyone else for your lovely compliments and all the love for the story.
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