DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, Dumbledore's Army, Hermione Granger, or Ron Weasley. Those rights go to a certain blond millionaire, unfortunately not to me.

A/N: Hellooo! Thanks to everyone who favorited, reviewed, and added this story to your story alert list! It really means a lot to me to see so many people like my writing. As always, feel free to review! And please enjoy!

OoOoO

Harry woke up with an all-too familiar pang in his scar, a dark hallway rapidly disappearing from his mind. Blinking groggily, he groped for his glasses on the bedside table. Finding them, Harry shoved them onto his face and sat up.

Throughout the weekend, Harry had felt this lightness, this happiness in his chest at the thought of his tutoring club. Despair had been turned to hope, and Harry no longer felt so…so isolated. Yesterday, when the first-year, Cass, had asked him if she could join had only increased this happiness. Harry couldn't quite figure out why, but the fact that Cass was coming made him inexplicitly swell with pride—for himself or the first-year, he didn't know. Maybe it was the fact that a first-year had had the bravery to come up to the Boy-Who-Lived to ask to join a club, mostly comprised of older students, that would teach students to fight (Harry stubbornly believed that everyone would be teaching and helping each other, while he was just a demonstrator).

Harry's thoughts turned to Dumbledore and his warning, a thing that happened a lot lately. What did he mean by it? What is going to happen this year? These questions, along with others like it, often bounced mercilessly unanswerable in his mind.

On the bed next to his, Ron started to stir. Throughout the dormitory, the other boys were doing the same. Before anyone else could, Harry dashed up from his bed and into the loo to get dressed.

A few moments later, Harry and Ron were walking down the stairs into the Gryffindor common room, talking about where the Defense meetings might be held in quiet voices. A group of students crowded around where all the notices were held caught Harry's attention.

"What do you reckon all this is about?" Harry wondered, passing by a dark-haired girl drawing in an armchair. Harry recognized Cass and smiled at her in greeting; no way was he going to ignore one of the only people who believed him.

She smiled back at him but looked a little glum.

"Dunno," Ron said, either not noticing Cass or paying her no heed.

"What's wrong, Cass?" Harry asked. Cass pressed her lips together and nodded her head towards where their Housemates were gathered.

Harry and Ron exchanged glances and walked over to the clustered Gryffindors.

"Out of the way, out of the way, I'm a prefect and must conduct—uh— prefect business," Ron declared, trying to make his way through the sea of kids. When that didn't work, he said, "If you don't move, my friend Harry Potter will go raving mad on all of you!"

Like someone had shouted, "Fire!" all the younger kids backed up and let Harry and Ron pass. Harry shot Ron a seething look and felt an odd prickling in his fingers. He clenched his fist tightly, almost a reflex now; lately, Harry had felt his magic much more presently. Not to a point of producing accidental magic, just…a slight increase.

"Ron, I have enough bloody people believing I'm a lunatic, I don't need your help, thanks," Harry snapped. But Ron wasn't paying any attention to him. He was staring at a notice pinned up on the red and gold board with an angry expression on his face.

"What—" Harry broke off as he read the sign. It was saying that no clubs, no gatherings, no student meetings, no societies, no teams, and no student organizations shall be held, proclaiming it to be Educational Decree #24. Proclaimed by Dolores Jane Umbridge, the High Inquisitor. Harry continued to read only by force of will and through narrowed eyes. Any students 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?! Harry read with barely controlled fury.

"She. Knows." He said through gritted teeth.

"Who? Umbridge?" Ron asked.

Harry gave a curt nod. "Does Hermione know?"

"No. Reckon we ought to tell her?"

Harry nodded and he and Ron headed towards the stairs to the girl's dormitories. On their way, they passed Cass. The first-year suddenly gave a delighted laugh and looked at Harry and Ron expectantly. This brought Harry to a slower pace, but not to a stop.

"Hey, Ron—" Harry began, but Ron was already halfway up the stairs…CLONK! In an instant, the steps turned into a steep stone slide. Ron came sliding down with a curse (or two or three or four curses).

Behind Harry, Cass was giggling uncontrollably. Harry soon joined her; he couldn't help himself, Ron looked absolutely hilarious. His friend was sprawled out on the floor like a fish out of water and making noises identical to one.

Still chuckling, Harry gave Ron a helpful hand up. "Bloody stairs—all you did was laugh. I suppose little Miss Seer Saw everything before it happened, too," he grumbled. This elected another round of laughter from Harry and Cass.

"WEEEE!" a blond first-year shouted with delight as she slid down the newly-formed slide. "What's all this?" she asked when she reached the ground, brushing off her skirt.

"Dunno, but it's brilliant!" Cass answered. Fortunately for Ron, the green-eyed girl didn't mention anything about Ron's less than graceful trip down the smooth slide as the two first-years left for breakfast in the Great Hall.

Harry felt a nagging towards the back of his mind as he watched Cass leave. She seemed so much like…someone. Harry knew it was ridiculous, but she reminded him of his run-in with the Mirror of Erised. Cass held herself much like…Harry didn't finish the thought as Hermione slid neatly down the stone slide.

"Please tell me it wasn't one of you two that caused the stairs to turn into a slide," Hermione said by way of greeting.

"Uh huh, 'morning to you, too, Hermione," Ron said cheekily.

"Ron tried to go up," Harry supplied.

"Well, how was I supposed to know it would turn into a bloody slide? Why did it do that, anyway?"

"It's an old-fashioned rule," Hermione explained. "The founders thought boys were less trustworthy than girls, I read about it in—"

"—Hogwarts, A History," Harry and Ron finished in unison.

"What were you going up there for, anyway?" Hermione asked.

"Come look," Harry replied, leading her over to the notice.

Hermione read the sign quickly and, upon finishing it, her expression became hard.

"Someone must've told her!" Ron said angrily—and loudly.

"Shhh!" Hermione hissed, shaking her head. "No one told her—trust me, we would know."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"Because I put a jinx on that piece of parchment. Anyone who blabbed…we would know," said Hermione darkly.

"You scare me sometimes, Hermione," said Ron, but, despite his words, he gave her a wicked grin.

Harry and his friends left for the Great Hall. On their way down, they passed some people from the meeting at Hog's Head. Hermione frantically waved them away, saying that she didn't want to draw attention to themselves.

"You're probably right, Hermione," Harry said, shrugging at Ernie Macmillan.

"Isn't she always?" Ron deadpanned.

"Well, honestly, walking up to us like that," Hermione said exasperatedly. She lowered her voice conspiratorially. "If Umbridge knows about the meeting at Hog's Head, who's to say she won't know if we meet up in the hallways?"

At her words, Ron looked around nervously. "Really?"

Hermione shrugged. "Maybe you should be quiet just in case," she said, sharing an amused look with Harry.

"Yeah, no more talking about how much you're in love with Victor Kr—"

"Shut your flytrap, Harry," Ron grumbled, catching on to the joke.

When the trio entered the Great Hall, they tried their best to look as nonchalant as possible. Cass, bless her, didn't even give them a second glance, but her friend looked like she wanted to say something or ask something of the three fifth-years.

Across the Hall, Zacharius Smith and Hannah Abbott were making their way towards Harry.

"No—see you—later!" Hermione mouthed with an air of panic, sitting down next to Harry and Ron.

As soon as they had taken their seats, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were bombarded with questions from Neville, Fred, George, and Ginny.

"Did you see the sign?"

"Reckon the toad knows?"

"Who told her?"

"What're we gonna do?"

They were all looking at Harry expectantly. He cast a nervous look in the nearby vicinity.

"We're going to do it anyway, obviously," said Harry in a low voice. "Better than the toad ever could."

OoOoO

Cass didn't spare Hermione—or Harry and Ronald, for that matter—a second glance as they walked past her and Brooke.

Before her friend could say anything, Cass said, "Don't—it'll look suspicious for a first-year to talk to a fifth-year," in as quiet a voice she could manage.

"Oh, yeah."

Cass shoveled eggs into her mouth and thought about the secret club. She had decided to keep it simple on who she was going to bring; Janelle, Bello, Rose, Sarah, and Brooke. She could ask her friends in Hufflepuff about it in Herbology this afternoon. For Sarah, maybe she could meet her before class.

Cass wondered where they were going to be held—Harry had told her he would tell her when they found a spot. Her world tilted and Cass got an almost vision of a big door…but it…shifted. It went from one thing to another, random rooms like a painting room or a garden, but mostly just half-formed pictures that Cass couldn't—and wouldn't even try to— decipher.

She shook her head to clear it, banishing the images from her mind. Well, wasn't that great help? she thought to herself sarcastically. Nevertheless, she made a mental note to write it down later.

"Hey, Cass, we are learning the Lumos Charm today. You know, the wand-lighting one," Brooke said. "Just thought you should know for your notes."

"Ha-ha. You love those notes when it comes time to do our homework," Cass retorted, giving Brooke a pointed look.

"That—whatever. You probably already know it, anyway."

"You're not very good at making insults," Cass remarked. Brooke gave an affronted look, to which Cass responded by sliding her wand from her robe and holding it behind the black material of her uniform, looking around to make sure no teachers were watching. Satisfied, Cass whispered, "Lumos!"

The tip of her silver wand ignited, albeit dimly. Cass grew excited, and the light flared. "Eek! Uh…" Cass racked her brains for the spell to stop enchantments; it was in her notes somewhere. "Finish! Fin? Finite!" Cass whispered furiously, relieved when the light diminished.

Next to Cass, Brooke was pounding the table with laughter. "Ha! 'Finish!'" she quoted Cass mockingly.

"Yeah, uh huh. Funny," Cass said, embarrassed. She stuffed her wand back into her robe, trying to be inconspicuous.

"Real subtle!" one of the Weasley twins—Fred, Cass thought—called.

"Didn't see a thing!" George called after him.

Cass pursed her lips, annoyed. Ever since the ill-fated day with the jam explosion, the Terror Twins hadn't tried any more pranks—which was saying something, because they made it their obligation to play jokes on first-years. Still, they irritated her to death.

"So, Cass. What are we going to do about the—the...well, you know," Brooke said. When Cass just narrowed her eyes in confusion, she continued in a lower voice, "The club? What about the sign?"

Although Cass wasn't one to blatantly disrespect rules, she knew this one, this 'decree' was begging to be broken. It had to be, or Cass would be defenseless. And she would not leave herself defenseless, especially after that vision of Voldemort. "What about it? What's some silly ole, too-fancy-for-a-bunch-of-kids sign to stop us?"

OoOoO

"Everyone, please take note that to maintain the Lumos charm, you must maintain concentration," Professor Flitwick lectured. Cass dutifully wrote this down on her notes page. "Lumos!" Professor Flitwick demonstrated for the class. His tiny wand lit in his hand, bright and clear.

"Since we went over the theory last class, today we will fulfill the practical part of this lesson. Please form groups of three and cast the charm. The reason I want you in groups is to give each other constructive criticism and to discuss what methods are best to produce a reliable Lumos charm. We will share ideas at the end of the class. Begin!"

Cass eagerly withdrew her intricate silver wand from her backpack and turned to Brooke. "Wanna be a group? We can ask Cyrene, too," she said. Brooke gave a nod from behind her bookbag. She was ruffling through it, probably looking for her wand. "Honestly, Brooke, your life would be much easier if you took the time to organize your stuff," Cass advised.

"Uh huh," Brooke replied, not looking up. Finally, she pulled her hand out, in it a thick brown wand. She wore a triumphant smile.

Cass rolled her eyes and turned to Cyrene. "Would you like to be in a group with me and Brooke?"

Cyrene beamed, sharp eyes glittering. "Yes, I would. Thanks," she replied as she repositioned her chair to face Cass and Brooke.

"Brilliant. Okay, I'll go first," said Cass, eager to cast the charm. Last night, while Brooke was taking a shower and Pauline was doing who knows what, Cass had tried the charm. She had propped her textbook up on her pillow, sat cross-legged on her bedspread, and repeated the charm. After three tries, her wand had lit, made a pop! noise, and gone out. Hopefully, that wouldn't happen this time—or flare up like it had in the Great Hall.

"Lumos!" she cast. Cass's wand lit up brightly, sputtered a bit, and dimmed dramatically. Cass immediately tried to reach out with her mind, as if having a vision. Almost like if the light was her vision, and her vision was flickering…she put more power into it. The light flared blindingly, making Cass squint. "Finite!" she said frantically. The light cut off abruptly, leaving Cass feeling disoriented and drained.

Professor Flitwick looked at her with wide, amused eyes, barely holding in a chuckle. "Miss McGarther, wonderful display of pushing more power into it to produce more light. However, instead of using Finite, which would cut off the power entirely and leave you a bit tired, try Nox."

Cass could have smacked her forehead in frustration at herself. Why hadn't she used Nox? There it was, right in her notes. 'To put a light out, simply use Nox.' How could she have been so stupid?

Professor Flitwick still looked amused, but he had a strange look in his eye. Cass couldn't quite put it into words…

"Reminiscent. He looks reminiscent," Cyrene remarked quietly, noticing Cass's befuddled expression. The Charms teacher had already turned away and was helping another student. Cass briefly turned her head to glance at Cyrene, an idea forming. Quickly, she reached out with her mind, trying to get a vision. Maybe he was thinking about my parents—if they went here. Alas, Cass only got the barest glimpse of a green-eyed girl struggling with a spell before it slowly retreated into nothingness, as if the farther away Professor Flitwick walked, the less Cass could See.

Immediately, she felt guilty. I can't just go around Looking into people's past, Cass thought to herself, ashamed. It's not right.

"Okay, so we learned—thanks to Cass—not to put too much power into a Lumos Charm," Cyrene summarized, jotting something—probably her exact words—onto her parchment.

"And to use Nox," Brooke added. Cyrene nodded and wrote that down on her parchment as well. Cass copied her, making a silent promise to not Look into someone's past again unless they asked. Of course, I can't help it if a vision comes out of the blue, Cass thought, sighing.

The rest of the lesson passed smoothly, and, by the end of it, Cass, Cyrene, and Brooke could cast beautiful Lumos Charms (although Brooke had a tendency to shoot blue sparks out of her wand; it was her thing).

As they left the class, Cass thought about telling Cyrene about the secret club. Her hesitation came from the fact that she didn't really know what they were getting into. What if they got caught? But shouldn't Cyrene make that decision herself?

"Hey, Cyrene?"

"Yes?"

"Uh…" Cass looked around; there were many teachers and triple the number of students. "Have a good day, and thanks for being in our group." Maybe I'll just see how the first meeting goes.

Cyrene smiled. "Thanks, you too. And I like being in you guys' group. It is very…interesting."

Cass grinned, thinking of the time Brooke had made vines crawl out of her wand by mispronouncing an incantation. She waved at Cyrene as her and Brooke left to drop their bags off in their dormitory before lunch.

On their way up, Cass and Brooke talked about many things. The conversation ranged from the Gryffindor Goons ("Ugh, don't even get me started on their hair," Brooke had said), debates on which classes were the best (Brooke argued that breakfast, lunch, and dinner should definitely be considered a class. Cass had just shaken her head in exasperation), and their favorite Quidditch teams (for this one, Brooke had just rambled on about different teams, leaving Cass confused and overwhelmed. She had insisted they move on to a different topic, as she had no idea what Brooke was talking about. Brooke had just ignored her, continuing her speech).

"And the Tornadoes, they're really starting to get good," Brooke was saying as they approached the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Quiritus Mimbletonia," Cass said, half-focused on what Brooke was saying. Something about winning and Quaffles or whatnot…

Her world tilted sideways and flipped over to a different scene than where Cass actually was.

A big, carved door stood before her. The Seer distinctly heard a chant of, "I need a place to practice Defense, to practice Defense…" The voice echoed in her head.

The doors swung open, revealing a room filled with dummies and books and mats.

Room…The Room of Requirement.

Snap! Cass was back, stumbling slightly as she finished her step. "Room of Requirement," she muttered quietly.

"Huh?" Brooke asked, confused.

Cass flopped down on a comfy armchair. "I—uh, I Saw something."

"Ooh! What?"

"I'm not sure. But I think it might help with…you know."

Brooke just stared at Cass uncomprehendingly, waiting for elaboration.

Cass glanced around quickly; they weren't that many people here. "You know? The club." Cass's voice was barely audible, but Brooke heard it and widened her eyes.

"What about it?"

"I think I just Saw a place where it could be held. They—" Cass was referring to Harry, Hermione, and Ronald "—still don't have a place. Maybe this is the place."

"Where is it? Did you See where?"

Cass's hopes plummeted. "No," she sighed. "But I would recognize it if I saw it. It was a big, intricately carved door, and there were dummies…mats, and books inside the room. I think."

"You said something else. Uhh…" Brooke thought about it for a second, obviously trying to remember something. "The Room of the Choir!"

Cass opened her mouth, closed it, raised her eyebrows, and narrowed her eyes. Then, she burst out laughing. "The—Room—of—Choir?" she choked out, giggling uncontrollably. Maybe it was the sheer randomness of it, or the fact that Brooke had said it so seriously, as if she actually believed that is what it was called, but Cass found it hilarious.

"What? What did you say?" Brooke asked with uplifted eyebrows.

This just made Cass laugh harder. "It's—It's called the Room of…the Room of Requirement. Ha! The Room of the Choir!"

Brooke blushed. "Oh, well, sor-ry. Not all of us can be all-seeing Seers."

"I'm not all-seeing!" Cass clarified. Brooke gave a snort. "I'm not. Sometimes, I try to Look and all I get is jack squat. But, anyway, we need to find this Room of Requirement, then we can tell—" Cass lowered her voice considerably "—Harry."

"Okay, how do we find it?"

Cass bit her lip. "Should we ask if anyone has seen a big door?"

"Who?"

"Well, we don't really know any older students, and we can't very well ask just anyone—what if they tell Umbridge?"

"How 'bout we just ask Harry or, uh, Hermy?"

"Hermione," Cass corrected. "Or Ronald, the other prefect."

"We just walk up to them and ask? That sounds pretty awkward to me, Cass."

"Hey, this was your idea. Are you a Gryffindor or not?"

"Okay, let's go," Brooke grumbled.

OoOoO

Cass and Brooke found Ronald walking to the Great Hall alone. It looked as if he was coming back from the loo.

Cass pursed her lips. She knew Hermione—and even Harry, for that matter—better than Ronald. In fact, Cass didn't think she has even talked to him alone.

She walked to the prefect nervously. "Uh, Ronald, right? Can I talk to you?"

Ronald looked around confusedly before finding Cass. His eyes narrowed. "It's Ron," he said. "And, no, I can't get you an autograph from Harry Potter."

Cass narrowed her eyes. "I wasn't going to ask that. If I wanted an autograph—big 'if', by the way—I would just walk up to Harry on my own," she said coolly.

Ron's face turned red with embarrassment before recognition dawned on it. "Oh, you're the Seer. Sorry, it's a reflex." He brightened. "What do you need?"

"Well, I had this vision about a room, a really big room called the Room of Requirement. I thought it might be a good place to…" Cass looked around; no one was near. "To have the, er, club. I—" Cass looked at Brooke. "—we don't know anyone else to tell—other than Hermione or Harry, and I don't know where they are."

"Yeah," Brooke agreed.

"Ohh, okay. Where is it?"

"We don't know. I just know that the door is big, carved in a lot of detail, and it's on the inside," Cass described.

Ron sighed. "I don't really remember seeing that anywhere. But I'll ask around. Maybe I've just missed it."

Cass thought that was unlikely, seeing as how he had practically lived in the castle for five years. Judging from his face, Ron seemed to be thinking the same thing. She sighed, too. Cass had been hoping that the older students would have the answers, but Ron had just tramped down on that hope.

"Well, now that you know…'bye," Brooke said awkwardly. Cass gave Ron a small smile before heading to the Great Hall.

OoOoO

"You are so rude!" Hermione shrieked at Ron. Harry pressed his lips together to keep from laughing.

"What?" Ron asked, bits of food flying from his mouth.

" 'I can't get you an autograph from Harry Potter?' Seriously, Ron?"

"I thought she was some fan, or something!"

"It was Cass!"

"How was I supposed to know? They all look the same!"

"I would think you would recognize her, Ron, seeing as how she looks so much like Harry."

"Coincidence!"

"Doesn't matter! You're a prefect, you shouldn't have said that to a first-year anyway!"

"Can we get to the point, please?" Harry interjected, shaking his head at their argument.

"Yes, of course," said Hermione stiffly.

"Right, the point is: McGarther—"

"—Cass," Hermione interrupted coolly, quirking an eyebrow.

Ron gritted his teeth. "Cass said she had a vision about a room. Something about the Room of the Choir."

Harry and Hermione exchanged confused glances. "Room of the Choir?" Hermione echoed, raising her eyebrows.

"Er, no, that wasn't it…" Ron frowned, trying to remember. Suddeny, he snapped his fingers. "The Room of Requirement!" he exclaimed, beaming at Hermione. "I'm sure you've heard of it in Hogwarts, A History or some other book."

Hermione shook her head slowly. "I've never heard of a Room of Requirement. What else did Cass say about it?"

Ron was flabbergasted for a second, mouth opening and closing. Harry could understand; something Hermione hadn't come across in all her reading? It was almost unheard of.

Ron found his voice. "Nothing else really, just that it was big and inside the school."

"Well, that's helpful," Harry grumbled.

"Yeah, well, it's all she gave me."

Hermione looked thoughtful. "I suppose we could ask around, I could say it was for S.P.E.W. or something, so we don't raise any questions…"

A lightbulb went off in Harry's head. "Hermione, that's it! Who knows the castle better than anyone?"

Hermione's eyes widened. "The creatures that spend most of their time cleaning it."

Harry smiled, and next to him, Ron was nodding his head. "I think we ought to pay a visit to Dobby again."

OoOoO

Cass stared gloomily out of the common room window, watching the raging storm outside. After Herbology, she and Brooke had asked Bello, Rose, and Janelle about the Defense club.

Rose had immediately said, "Yes! My dad—" she had choked up. Cass remembered her dad had died in the last wizarding war. "My dad would be so proud—so proud of me for learning it…We may need it." In thinking about her dad, her hair had turned blue and mousy. Cass had given her the sincerest and warm look she possibly could have and squeezed her hand.

Janelle had a different opinion. "I don't know, it sounds like an expulsion waiting to happen. I couldn't do that. I mean, I just learned about magic being real, I don't want to do anything to risk making it all go away," she had said. Cass had nodded; she could understand that, being Muggle-born (or just Muggle-raised). But Janelle hadn't Seen Voldemort come back to life. Cass knew she had to do this, consequences be damned.

Bello had hesitated. Cass and Brooke watched him mull it over, lips pressed together in thought. Finally, his eyes had hardened, and he had said, "Yes," in a quiet, clear voice. Cass couldn't begin to understand what had given him the edge to his otherwise sweet voice, and she wouldn't Look. She and Brooke had just nodded and moved the conversation to lighter topics that could be discussed in normal tones—not the quiet ones they had been using.

After speaking with the three Hufflepuffs, Cass had gone to ask Sarah. The Slytherin had turned thoughtful. "I think…I think this would be the ultimate disrespectful act towards Umbridge." Her eyes had gotten a cunning gleam in them. "Which means that of course I will join this!"

After that, Cass and Brooke had employed the others to lead a search through the school for the massive door. They had spent a whole hour combing the nooks and crannies of Hogwarts to no bloody avail. It was this reason that Cass was now gloomily staring out the window.

"Feeling down?"

"May we suggest a day off—"

"—Using our lovely treats to—"

"—Skive off class?"

Cass groaned inwardly at the arrival of the Terror Twins. "No amount of cheesy advertising is going to make me buy those." Even if I had the money¸ she added silently to herself.

"Fine, we know something else that will cheer you up," Fred said.

"Something, dare I say it, brother?" George asked with fake reverence.

"Dareth thee, mine twinith." Cass restrained herself from giggling.

"Something even better than our treats."

"No! What could possibly be better than our products?!" Fred asked in mock shock.

"Why, a place to hold secret Defense Against the Dark Arts meetings, of course," the twins finished together.

Cass turned her head quickly to face them. "Really?" she said excitedly.

"Totally."

"Absolutely."

Cass smiled. "Excellent! I have to go tell Brooke!" Cass ran off.

"Oh, to be young and actually eager to learn at school. Don't you miss those days, brother?"

"Hardly, George. Can't miss what you've never had."

OoOoO

Cass watched from an alcove as Bello and Brooke made their way too the space beside Barnabus the Barmy, an enormous tapestry that showed Barnabus attempting to train trolls for the ballet. They walked past it three times, eyes narrowed in silent thought, and stepped through the big door from Cass's vision, just like Harry had instructed.

Next to her, Rose pinched her face and, slowly, her hair turned the same shade of mousy brown as Barnabus's. Her eyes became the same purple as his and her face took on a similar structure to his. She then affected a, well, barmy look, stretching her mouth into a frown and closing her eyes as she raised her eyebrows high. The resulting look had Cass struggling to hold in fits of giggles.

"Ok—let's—go—now," Cass choked out, still laughing as silently as she could (which wasn't very silent at all). They calmly made their way to the other side of the hall, trying to be nonchalant in case anyone was around (there weren't any, but Hermione had insisted).

Inside the Room, there were silk mats, dummies, and bookshelves that lined the walls, with books on Defense Against the Dark Arts. Students from almost all Houses milled around—the absence of any Slytherins stood out starkly to Cass. She pursed her lips; why were wizards and witches so prejudiced? Cass felt a pang of guilt for inviting Sarah as she would most likely be the only Slytherin. The guilt didn't last long, though. Righteousness replaced it as Cass thought, Let them try to be mean to my friend.

Cass and Rose made their way to Brooke and Bello. The first-years had gathered in the back, next to one of the large bookshelves. All around, older students were giving them sideways glances.

"Firsties? What is this, some fun learning project?"

Cass bristled. "No, it's a secret, illegal club that teaches people to fight because Voldemort is back. Honestly, keep up."

When Cass had said Voldemort's name, pandemonium broke out. Girls shrieked (and some boys, too). People backed away from her. Even Rose, Brooke, and Bello reacted. Rose winced, Bello whimpered, but Brooke, after gasping, started laughing.

"Only you, Cass," she said, shaking her head.

Everyone turned to face Cass, who squirmed under the attention, wondering how Harry hadn't gone insane. But she held her head high and cleared her throat. "Er…not saying his name just gives him more power…also, You-Know-Who is a bit of a mouthful," said Cass awkwardly, grimacing at the attention.

To Cass's left, Harry coughed. She could swear that it sounded like he was covering up a laugh. "Uh, we have a few more people coming, so—er—feel free to, uh, talk amongst yourselves," he said helpfully.

Brooke was still laughing. Cass stomped on her foot, hard. "Be quiet, this isn't funny. I don't like attention," she snapped.

"You sure do have a way of bringing it upon yourself, though," Bello pointed out.

"Bello!" Rose exclaimed, smacking her head. "You're so tactless!"

"No, it's true. Hey, Sarah is here!"

The Slytherin came through the door, looking around. Luckily, no one said anything and Sarah walked over to the other first-years in peace.

"Hello, Ms. Sarah," Bello said formally.

Sarah raised her eyebrows but said, "Hello, Bello. How very nice to see you."

While Cass and Rose exchanged confused glances, Brooke snorted. "Merlin, you sound as if you both are having tea with the Queen. Lighten up!" she said.

Sarah smiled. "Hi, guys. So, this is it?" she asked, taking in the room.

"I guess so," Cass replied.

"Ugh, my back is starting to hurt. We need chairs or something," Brooke complained. She practically fell over as one appeared behind her.

"What."

"The."

"Fu—"

"Brooke!" Cass, Bello, Rose, and Sarah all said together, stopping her from completing the unprintable word.

"What?! A chair just poofed into existence right behind me!" Brooke said, gesturing wildly at the chair.

"Hmm, that was right after you said, 'We need chairs,'" Sarah observed. "I need a…teacup!"

Before the first-years' wide eyes, a teacup appeared on the floor next to Brooke's chair. It was old-looking and chipped, but it was a teacup.

"Wicked!" Rose exclaimed. The rest could only nod their heads in agreement. Before Cass could shout a dozen things, a whistle blew.

"Alright, everyone, listen up! Fred, George, take those fish heads off the dummies!" Harry shouted to everyone. Cass and her friends looked at him eagerly. Her friends seemed as though they were looking at a legend come true before their eyes—Cass supposed Harry was a legend, at least, to them.

Soon the room fell silent and all eyes were on Harry. He seemed uncomfortable with all the attention on him, something Cass could relate to. "Right, I've been thinking and—yes, Hermione?"

The bushy-haired girl had raised her hand. "I think we should have a name, something we can say in public and not attract attention, but also one that lets us know exactly what we're talking about." When she was greeted only with blank faces, Cass gave her an encouraging thumbs up. Hermione continued in a small voice, "I just thought that 'secret club' or 'Defense teachings of Harry' seemed a bit obvious—and not befitting of an illegal gathering of students."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I like that idea. Er, any suggestions?"

"Anti-Umbridge League!"

"Ministry of Magic are Morons Group!"

"Defying Dolores!"

"Troubling the Toad!"

"Chudley Cannons 2.0!" Brooke called out. Cass turned to her with raised eyebrows. "What?" Brooke asked. Cass just shook her head and exchanged a giggle with Sarah.

"Maybe something a little less noticeable?" Hermione advised to everyone.

"Defense Association!"

"What about something Umbridge is afraid of?"

"Yeah, what is the toad afraid of?"

Flicker.

"Dumbledore is plotting, plotting against us I say!" a portly man was telling a woman in pink. "Dolores, you must keep him from spreading his lies, and Potter, too. The public cannot know." The man paled. "Because it isn't true!" he said frantically.

"May I suggest a spot on the inside?" came a sickly, rotten voice.

Cass's world snapped back into place. Umbridge is afraid of Dumbledore…the Ministry is afraid of Dumbledore… "Dumbledore's Army," Cass said, surprised when people actually listened to her suggestion.

"I like it," said a sixth-year girl with straight, black hair. Other students were saying similar things. Hermione beamed at Cass, who beamed back at her.

"Okay, all in favor of Dumbledore's Army?" Hermione asked bossily. Many people raised their hands. Fred and George both raised both of their hands.

Harry nodded, looking pleased with the name (though it may have been because some of the attention on him had alleviated). "Right, then. Dumbledore's Army, bane of Umbridge!"

OoOoO