Well, my college has resumed once more, not that I expect it to alter my posting schedule whatsoever, but I find myself in a minor quandary… I have a Tuesday slot for posting wide open, and I don't know whether to fill it with another posting of AoM or leave it empty. thoughts? are we ok with just 1/week chapters, or do you want the story to speed up even faster. i get a feeling the responces i might get, but i will still ask the question. let me know! ~F
Chapter Nine
Seeds of Rebellion
Harry thankfully wasn't pestered about the Defense club for the next two weeks. In truth, he had given the matter a great deal of thought over that amount of time. Overall it seemed insane, just as it seemed when Hermione presented the idea, but sometimes, generally during Umbridge's classes, Harry found himself planning lessons subconsciously, thinking about the spells that had served him best during his encounters with dark creatures and Death Eaters.
But he wasn't going to commit to anything until he talked one on one with Faykan about it. Harry had a sickening suspicion that Hermione might try to get more people to join the 'club' and that those people would definitely have awkward questions about what happened that night during the Third Task. He wanted Faykan's opinion about what he should say, if anything, to answer them.
The opportunity presented itself one day toward the end of September. Harry had passed a note to Faykan that morning at breakfast to meet near the library during lunch, before Transfiguration. He had then lied to Ron and Hermione about needed to use the loo to sneak away and speak with Faykan in private.
Walking down the corridor toward the library, Harry was caught off guard when someone snatched him by the collar and dragged him into the dark alcove behind the statue of a scholarly wizard. Recognizing the feel of Faykan's magic, Harry relaxed, casting privacy wards to alert them if someone was approaching.
"So, what'd you want to discuss?" Faykan asked.
Slowly, Harry began to explain Hermione's idea to him, listing his reasons for both liking and disliking it, as well as his small fear of what he would have to tell others who wanted to join about the night Faykan had supposedly died.
Faykan stood there, quietly listening until Harry had completely finished, then smiled softly, "Well Harry, it is your choice whether to do this or not, but I agree with Hermione. These children have no idea about the things we've faced together in the past years, nor are they prepared to face anything that lies outside these walls. I would urge you to greatly consider accepting, as it would allow you to help prepare them all for the inevitable war that is coming."
Faykan then softly pulled Harry into an embrace, wrapping his arms around him and allowing Harry to rest his head on his shoulder, "As to what people will ask, or more likely demand from you, you don't need to tell any of them a damn thing. If they want to interrogate you about that night and nothing else, tell them to sod off and leave it at that. You don't have to justify yourself to anyone, not students, not teachers, and definitely not the Ministry. You may choose what to tell those who are genuinely curious, or what not to." He chuckled slightly, "Who am I to argue, I'm supposed to be dead."
They stood there for several seconds, until Harry's stomach have a mildly loud rumble, "We'd better get to what's left of lunch before we're missed," Faykan suggested, and together they set off down to the Great Hall.
Harry was very glad that he and Faykan discussed the situation when they did, because right after Transfiguration Hermione brought the subject up again.
"I was wondering," Hermione said, as they deposited their kittens that they had been vanishing, "whether you'd thought any more about Defense Against the Dark Arts, Harry."
"Well," Harry replied slowly, "yeah, I've thought about it a bit."
"And?" Hermione said eagerly.
Harry swallowed nervously, was he really going to do this? "Yeah, sure, I'll do it, but I doubt anyone expect you two, Draco, and F… Will, would want to be taught by me. I'm a nutter remember…"
"Well, I think you might be surprised how many people would be interested in hearing what you've got to say." said Hermione seriously. She then lowered her voice conspiratorially "How would it be if we tell anyone who's interested to meet us in the village first Hogsmeade weekend of October and we can all talk it over?"
"Why outside of school?" Harry asked.
"Because Umbridge wouldn't be too happy if she found out what we were up to," Hermione replied matter-of-factly.
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Severus watched with a small smirk as he watched Faykan plodding around his private potions lab, grinning widely to himself, as he gathered this or that ingredient, and worked on the several N.E.W.T level potions that Severus needed for his sixth and seventh year classes.
"Stage two is nearly completed." The boy was saying, "Hermione has pitched an idea of a Defense club to Harry, who has also agreed to teach it, and we will meet those interested in Hogsmead during the first trip in October. And with both Dumbledore distracted and Umbridge uselessly interrogating the teachers, even if our idea is discovered we won't be stopped, as both Hermione and I have some security procedures planned out."
Severus nodded, they had been discussing this for weeks, Severus adding his ideas or comments on several different aspects of what this Defense group should study, but he agreed with Faykan that he shouldn't take control of it, but allow Harry to learn leadership from it.
"The Dark Lord has been biding his time, trying to acquire the prophecy from the Department of Mysteries. His only other thoughts aside from this are only to build his forces and break open Azkaban." Severus reported carefully.
"I thought as much," Faykan said, pouring powdered bone meal into a vat of Skele-gro. "But there isn't much we can do until he attempts to seize the prophecy. He'll not risk entering the Ministry unless his servants fail to take it from Harry," Severus' eyes widened in confusion.
Faykan saw this, and looked grimly up at Severus, "Oh yes, Voldemort will trick Harry into entering the Department of Mysteries and removing the prophecy, when and how, I do not know. Possibly not until he realized the connection between them via Harry's scar. Harry's been dreaming about the door to the Department of Mysteries all since summer, I've heard him in his sleep, as well as entered his mind to subtly see what he sees. He's slipping unconsciously into Voldemort's mind. Very soon something will trigger his awareness of it, and we must be prepared."
"Albus has been aware of the connection for a while now, ever since Harry's first year and the pains from when Quirrell touched him." Severus commented.
"I figured as much, he'd like to keep that information to himself as long as possible, in the hopes of using it to his advantage… You'll need to fine tune Harry's Occlumency when the time comes, no matter what Dumbledore wants, because no amount of it will prevent Voldemort from entering Harry's mind, but we need to shield important memories, such as the fact that I live, from him."
Severus agreed immediately, understanding the motivation of keeping Faykan's continued survival secret from the Dark Lord.
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Hermione watched Harry closely as the four of them made their way down to Hogsmeade. Draco had gone on ahead, saying something about things he needed to buy, but that he would meet them at the Hog's Head when he was finished. Harry had seemed agitated by something the few days prior to the weekend, and had confided that he was worried that Sirius might turn up.
Hermione sympathized with his worry, she didn't want to see Sirius thrown back into Azkaban, and both she, Ron and Will had worked to sooth his fears, reassuring him that Sirius knew the dangers and wouldn't go against what Dumbledore told him, especially after Lucius Malfoy recognizing him on the platform.
The day was rather windy, and they had all bundled up with scarves and heavy cloaks against the pre-winter chill. Harry asked casually where they had planned to meet the other students, and Hermione explained that she and Will had chosen to rent the small room above the Hog's Head for the afternoon. Hermione would have just used the bar floor, but Will insisted that it would be safer if anyone tried to listen in on them to use the room, and generously supplied the gold to pay for it.
They walked down the main street past Zonko's Wizarding Joke Shop, where they were not surprised to see Fred, George and Lee Jordan, past the post office, from which owls issued at regular intervals, and turned up a side-street at the top of which stood a small inn. A battered wooden sign hung from a rusty bracket over the door, with a picture on it of a wild boar's severed head, leaking blood on to the white cloth around it. The sign creaked in the wind as they approached. Hermione, Harry and Ron hesitated outside the door.
"Well, come on…" Will said, pushing the door open and striding inside.
It was a rather small and dingy pub, smelling strongly of something that Hermione guessed was goats. It seemed as though the place hadn't been cleaned in a long time, judging from the grimed windows and filthy floors. There was a man at the bar whose whole head was wrapped in dirty grey bandages, though he was still managing to gulp endless glasses of some smoking, fiery substance through a slit over his mouth; two figures shrouded in hoods sat at a table in one of the windows talking with heavy Yorkshire accents, and a witch with a thick black veil in a shadowed corner beside the fireplace.
The barman sidled towards them out of a back room. He was a grumpy looking old man with a great deal of long grey hair and beard. He was tall and thin and looked vaguely familiar. Will confidently walked straight up to him and started to haggle the price to use the upstairs room for the afternoon, finally settling for an outrageous price of twenty galleons, but Will happily slapped the gold onto the table.
"We'll be having more Hogwarts student arriving shortly; please direct them upstairs please, and if they ask for drinks I'll pay for them after were all finished." Will declared as they moved to the stairs along the far side of the bar, and went up to a smaller room with several chairs and a short table.
Harry and Ron rearranged the table with five chairs behind it while Hermione help Will conjure and arrange the rest of the chairs they'd probably need. She didn't know exactly how many people would show up, so settled on a round thirty chairs just in case there were more then she expected.
"So, who did you say is supposed to be meeting us?" Harry asked suspiciously, eyeing the number of chairs they were settling in small rows.
"Just a couple of people…" Hermione answered weakly. She checked her watch just as the sound of the pub door opening sounded below them and the soft rumble of dozens of feet, "Oh that must be them now."
Together they sat behind the table, facing the door, and waited for the barman to direct the other students up to their room. First came Neville with Dean and Lavender, who were closely followed by Parvati and Padma Patil with Cho and one of her other girlfriends, then Luna Lovegood; then Katie Bell, Alicia Spinnet and Angelina Johnson, Colin and Dennis Creevey, Ernie Macmillan, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Hannah Abbott, Susan Bones; three Ravenclaw boys Hermione was pretty sure were called Anthony Goldstein, Michael Corner and Terry Boot, who all glanced at Will with looks of awe; Ginny, followed by another boy Hermione recognized as Zacharias Smith, then Fred and George with Lee Jordan, and finally Draco with a dark skinned Slytherin boy that Hermione did not know.
"A couple of people…?" Harry said hoarsely as the mass of people settled into the chairs, each clutching a butterbeer and chatting noisily. Draco settled on the opposite side of Will at the far end of the table, while the other Slytherin boy seated himself in the far corner, a good deal away from the rest of the students, who shot him both glares and looks of agitation.
"Why are they here," Zacharias asked sneeringly, clearly meaning Draco and the other Slytherin.
Will glared at the Hufflepuff boy, "Because we do not judge people based on their house, and if you plan on making it difficult for people who genuinely want to hear what we have to say then get out right now before I make you."
Hermione saw the three Ravenclaw boys behind Zacharias flinch as if struck, and the Hufflepuff clammed up almost immediately. The rest of the group gaped at Will, and Hermione recognized that there was a sort of power about the boy, almost a presence that demanded respect from others instinctively. Will looked over at her and nodded, giving the floor for her to begin the meeting.
Hermione stood nervously, and all attention flooded to her, "Well… erm… well, you know why you're here. Erm… well, Harry here had the idea… I mean…"
Harry had thrown her a sharp look.
"…I had the idea, that it might be good if people who wanted to study Defense Against the Dark Arts… and I mean, really study it, you know, not the rubbish that Umbridge is doing with us... because nobody could call that Defense Against the Dark Arts…"
"Hear, hear," said Anthony Goldstein, and Hermione felt her confidence soar
"…Well, I thought it would be good if we, well, took matters into our own hands."
She paused, looked sideways at Harry, and went on, "And by that I mean learning how to defend ourselves properly, not just in theory but doing the real spells…"
"You want to pass your Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L. too, though, I bet?" said Michael Corner, who was watching her closely.
"Of course I do," said Hermione at once. "But more than that, I want to be properly trained in defense because... because..." taking a great breath, Hermione prepared for the reactions and finished, "because Lord Voldemort is back."
The reaction was immediate and predictable. Cho's girlfriend shrieked and slopped Butterbeer down herself; Terry Boot gave a kind of involuntary twitch; Padma Patil shuddered, and Neville gave an odd yelp that he managed to turn into a cough. All of them, however, looked fixedly, even eagerly, at Harry.
"Well... that's the plan, anyway" said Hermione. "If you want to join us, we need to decide how we're going to…"
"Where's the proof You-Know-Who's back?" said Zacharias rather aggressively.
"Well, Dumbledore believes it…" Hermione began.
"You mean, Dumbledore believes him," said Smith, nodding at Harry.
"Who are you?" said Ron, rather rudely.
"Zacharias Smith," Smith said arrogantly, "and I think we've got the right to know exactly what makes him say You-Know-Who's back."
"Look," said Hermione, deciding to intervene swiftly, "that's really not what this meeting was supposed to be about…"
"It's ok, Hermione," said Harry.
Hermione stopped talking and sat down immediately. There was a fire in Harry's eyes that she had never seen there before, a passion born out of the horrors he had witnessed she guessed.
"What makes me say You-Know-Who's back?" he repeated, looking Zacharias straight in the face and mocking the use of the stupid title. "I saw him. But Dumbledore told the whole school what happened last year, and if you didn't believe him, you won't believe me, and I'm not wasting an afternoon trying to convince anyone."
The whole group seemed to have held its breath while Harry spoke. The Slytherin boy at the back leaned forward intently from his seat in the far corner of the room.
Zacharias said dismissively, "All Dumbledore told us last year was that Faykan Undol got killed by You-Know-Who and that you brought Undol's body back to Hogwarts. He didn't give us details; he didn't tell us exactly how Undol got murdered… I think we'd all like to know…"
"Do you really…" Harry said darkly, and Hermione felt the chill of his words. "Do you really want to know what Avada Kedavra looks like? Do you really want to know what an exploding wand does to the person holding it? Do you really want to know what it feels like, to hold your best friend in your arms knowing he's gone forever?"
Power wafted off of Harry, and the room darkened around them. Hermione noticed with a start that Harry seemed to give off an aura of light and authority, similar to what Will had just done earlier, but far greater and more menacing.
"If you think these are the things you deserve to know, then you can get out right now. Your acting like an ignorant little child, stubbornly clinging to the idea that evil is gone forever, but you are as foolish and stupid as the Ministry and I'm not going to waste my time trying to convince you or teach you. And that goes for you, or anyone else who thinks I'm just some nutter who wants to feel important."
Not a soul moved from their seats, and even Zacharias' face had paled from the utter seriousness of Harry's speech, and the cold determination in his eyes. No one else made any protests, so Hermione decided to plunge ahead, "Yes, well, moving on… the point is… are we agreed that we want to take lessons from Harry?"
There was a solemn murmur of agreement, even Zacharias nodded, his face still pale.
"Right," Hermione said, relieved that it had been settled so easily and quickly. "Then the next question is how often we meet. I really don't think there's any point in meeting less than once a week…"
"Hang on," said Angelina, "we need to make sure this doesn't clash with our Quidditch practice."
"No," said Cho, "nor with ours."
"Nor ours," added Zacharias Smith.
"Weren't any of you listening…" Draco drawled sarcastically, "Didn't Harry just finish telling you off for acting like children. This is far more important than Quidditch, were talking about surviving the upcoming war. If it comes down to it, I'm planning on quitting the Slytherin Quidditch team if necessary. I'll probably be thrown off first because of other commitments, but I don't care. You have three of the four captains here; work your practices around our meetings if you have to."
"Well said!" barked Ernie Macmillan, and Hermione felt a blossom of confidence toward inter-house unity at his words. "Personally I think this is really important, possibly more important than anything else we'll do this year, even with our O. coming up!"
He looked around impressively, as though waiting for people to cry "Surely not!" When nobody spoke, he went on, "I personally am at a loss to see why the Ministry has foisted such a useless teacher on us at this critical period. Obviously, they are in denial about the return of You-Know-Who, but to give us a teacher who is trying to actively prevent us from using defensive spells…"
"We think the reason Umbridge doesn't want us trained in Defense Against the Dark Arts," Hermione explained, "is that she's got some... some mad idea that Dumbledore could use the students in the school as a kind of private army. She thinks he'd mobilize us against the Ministry."
Nearly everybody looked stunned at this news; everybody except Luna Lovegood, who piped up, "Well, that makes sense. After all, Cornelius Fudge has got his own private army."
"What?" said Harry, who was clearly completely thrown by this unexpected piece of information.
"Yes, he's got an army of Heliopaths," said Luna solemnly.
"No, he hasn't," snapped Hermione.
"Yes, he has," said Luna.
"What are Heliopaths?" asked Neville, looking blank.
"They're spirits of fire," said Luna, her protuberant eyes widening so that she looked madder than ever, "great tall flaming creatures that gallop across the ground burning everything in front of…"
"They don't exist, Neville," said Hermione tartly.
"Oh, yes, they do!" said Luna angrily.
Before Hermione could snap back at the delusion girl, Luna turned to Will, "You know what I mean, tell them…"
Everyone turned to Will with a confused look, and he sighed, then calmly spoke, "They used to exist, but they weren't called Heliopaths, and no, Fudge doesn't have an army of them… I'd love to see that idiot try to control just one… No, the spirits of fire and shadow were called the Balrogs, and they were demons from beyond the first age of this earth…"
Hermione saw recognition dawn on both Harry's and Draco's faces and they shuddered slightly, but otherwise no one reacted, although Draco continued to stare at Will long after Harry had turned away.
"I'm sorry but where's the proof?" Hermione asked sternly.
"Enough," Will said, "This is neither the time nor the place. Now, weren't we trying to decide how often we're going to meet…?"
"Yes," said Hermione at once, "yes, we were, you're right Will."
"Well, once a week sounds cool," said Lee Jordan.
"As long as…" began Angelina.
"Yes, yes, we know about the Quidditch," said Hermione tensely. "Well, the other thing to decide would be where we're going to meet, but luckily we already have the perfect place already chosen."
"Where's that? The library?" Katie Bell asked.
"No, well let you all know at the time of the first meeting." Hermione said reassuringly. She felt strongly that it would be best to keep the Room of Requirement a secret until they had a reliable means of communication. She rummaged in her bag and produced parchment and a quill, steeling herself to this small piece of deception she and Will had made.
"I… I think everybody should write their name down, just so we know who was here. But I also think," she took a deep breath, "that we all ought to agree not to shout about what we're doing. So if you sign, you're agreeing not to tell Umbridge or anybody else what we're up to."
It took several more minutes to convince everyone to sign the list, but in the end everyone agreed, and finally they all slowly started to drift out of the room in pairs and trios, until it was just Hermione, Ron, Harry, Will, Draco and the other Slytherin, who Draco had introduced as Blaise Zabini. "You know," Blaise had said rather formally, before taking his own leave, "that this is the first undertaking in over a hundred years that has united the students of the four houses so closely."
They had all pondered that for a few solemn moments before leaving the pub, Will depositing another fifteen galleons to the barman for the butterbeers that everyone had taken at the start of the meeting.
"Well, I think that went quite well," Hermione commented happily as the five of them walked out of the Hog's Head into the bright sunlight.
"That Zacharias bloke's a wart," said Ron, who was glowering after the figure of Smith, just discernible in the distance.
"I don't like him much, either," Hermione admitted, "but he overheard me talking to Ernie and Hannah at the Hufflepuff table and he seemed really interested in coming, so what could I say? But the more people the better really, I mean, Michael Corner and his friends wouldn't have come if he hadn't been going out with Ginny…"
"He's WHAT?" spluttered Ron, outraged, his ears now resembling curls of raw beef. Hermione also noticed that Draco was clenching his fists rather angrily at the mention of Ginny going out with another boy.
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Severus opened the Potion classroom's door just in time to intervene in what almost looked like all out war. Harry and Weasley were restraining Longbottom of all people from trying to lunge at Nott, Crabbe and Goyle. It took a matter of seconds for Severus to conclude what had occurred, as there was only one thing that could provoke Longbottom to violence.
"Picking fights with Gryffindors are we?" he sneered at Nott, who lost his smirk immediately under the wrath of his head of house, "Ten points from Slytherin for instigating others. Potter, Weasley, release Longbottom and get inside."
Severus was quite aware of the fate of Longbottom's parents, and had no desire to dredge up that nasty mess, so he simple swept into the room, followed by the muttering students. Severus slammed the door after the last student entered, and the class immediately quieted.
Reaching the front of the room, Severus met Faykan's eyes and pointedly glanced at the far corner, where the Ministry worker, Umbridge, sat with her inspection clipboard. Will inclined his head, gesturing that he had seen and understood. They would not be plotting anything today, but performing their indicated tricks for the woman.
"You will notice," said Snape, in his low, sneering voice, "that we have a guest with us today." He gestured for the class toward Umbridge, and most of them turned to look at her. "We are continuing with out Strengthening Solution today. You will find your mixtures as you left them last lesson; if correctly made they should have matured well over the weekend. Instructions are on the board. Carry on."
Umbridge thankfully left Severus alone for the first half hour of the lesson, in which Severus was able to forestall Harry from detonating his potion. Leaning over the cauldron, he whispered in the boy's ear, "Just focus on your potion, Will may fill you in on what that… woman asks us."
The woman in question finally stood, and predictably moved over to Faykan, who was working silently on batch of Veritaserum that Severus had figured would be the perfect potion to keep them 'busy' for a month. Severus cast his eavesdropping spell and continued to make his rounds, while avidly listening to her questions of his 'apprentice.'
"So," Umbridge asked in her sickly sweet voice, "you are Professor Snape's assistant?"
"Yes." Faykan responded, not looking at her.
"And you've only just started attending Hogwarts this year, unofficially?"
"Yes." He repeated in the same tone, continuing to work on his potion.
"That is highly irregular isn't it? Most Potion Masters take apprentices that are already out of school."
"True."
"Why do you think that Professor Snape chose to take you, after so many years of refusing all applicants?"
"I do not know, perhaps that would be a question better posed to him?"
"I see…" Umbridge said, making a final note on her clipboard before turning her toad-like face toward Severus. He cancelled the spell and turned to inspect a Gryffindors cauldron as the woman approached.
His questions weren't too terrible, but still invasive and completely unnecessary. Severus answered them with the minimal amount of interaction, just as Faykan had done, and thankfully the woman moved on to questioning the Slytherin students about the lessons. Severus caught Harry's eye and sent him a small reassuring nod, which the boy returned before continuing with his potion.
Severus then moved to 'overview' Faykan's progression with the Veritaserum, and read silently the note he had scribbled out on a scrap parchment while Umbridge had been interrogating him.
"Our group needs a means of safe communication, do you have any suggestions?"
Severus smirked, he knew the perfect means to, and rubbed his left arm thoughtfully before writing out several suggestions and moving away.
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Draco knew there was something familiar about Will from the moment they had met on the train, but he hadn't been able to place what I might have been. There was just something about the way he spoke, the prominence of his person, the way he managed to stand out in a crowd. But it hadn't completely struck him until the small slip up the boy made in the Hog's Head. The small mention of Balrogs was what reminded Draco so forcefully of Faykan.
He remembered two years ago, when staying in Faykan's house the first time he saw the Palantír, the mass of visions of old wizened men, and especially of the old wizard named Gandalf, who had faced one of those creatures in a dark place. From then on he watched this Will from a new angle, looking for the similarities.
They were all there, the cheeky grin that looked almost vulpine in appearance, though completely unsuited to the roundish face, the way his eyes seemed to look right through you when he spoke, everything. Will was somehow connected to Faykan. And Draco was going to find out.
Draco arrived early to the corridor outside where the Room of Requirement lay hidden and waited for the Gryffindors to arrive from Defense Against the Dark Arts. He didn't have to wait too long, as Will and Harry arrived quickly with Ron and Hermione, summoning the door to the room, "Wait for us a second," Will said to Ron and Hermione, and together he and Harry set off down the corridor a ways and entered an empty classroom.
Draco crept to the door silently and peered into the unused classroom, listening intently to the low voices emerging from within.
"Does she suspect?" Harry was asking
"Of course she suspects, but that was not part of her questioning for me or Severus. She clearly does not know exactly who anyone in the group is, or else she would have been on us about it already… No she was just inspecting Severus' allegiances to Dumbledore, which at this point are minimal at best."
Draco craned his neck slightly to see around the door into the room. Will and Harry were standing together in a darkened corner, the taller boy leaning casually against a nearby desk, while Harry sat upon the adjacent table as they spoke. Draco raised his eyebrows at the oddness of these two being more than just acquaintances…
"Do you think she'll try to get at Sirius again, Fay?" Harry said softly. Draco's blood froze. Harry had just called Will their nickname for Faykan. But, Harry must be deranged to think the mousy-haired boy was his dead friend. Unless… but that was impossible, no spell ever created could reawaken the dead.
"No, we'll send him a few letters via the Crebain to warn him from trying to contact us in the conventional means again, Umbridge has probably started checking owl post, but she'd never think that we'd use other birds."
Draco silently crept backward and out of the room, careful to make sure he wasn't seen. He then walked casually back to the Room of Requirement, to keep Ron and Hermione from wondering where the other two Gryffindors had gotten too. All the while he wondered what big secret the two Gryffindors were hiding from the rest of them.
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The Dark Lord raged in his cavern fortress. The prophecy still eluded his capture once again; the imperioused Unspeakable, Broderick Bode, had failed, going mad as he attempted to remove the prophecy from the Department of Mysteries. He would be dealt with at a later time, as he was unable to relay any information to the Ministry or the Order of the Phoenix in his present state.
The pitiful Death Eater who had delivered the news had been subjected to his wrath and the Cruciatus curse for several minutes, his screams echoing through the tunnels and passageways. Not only were there failings on his home soil, but abroad. News had come from his spies in Germany that the wizarding communities had risen up to fight off the hordes of dark creatures flocking to answer his call to war.
Not only wizards, but armies of squibs who lived in separation from the muggle world had marched into battle against his new forces. They would be dealt with swiftly after the fall of Britain, it was inevitable. After two massive muggle wars and the chaos of Grindelwald the wizards of Germany were going to be crushed underfoot by the strongest sorcerer in the world. Lord Voldemort would succeed where generations of powerful witches and wizards had failed.
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Harry was excited for the first time in weeks; the first Defense meeting was going to be at eight o'clock that evening, in the Room of Requirement. Word had been passed around to everyone who had signed up in Hogsmeade, and he, Faykan, Hermione, Ron and Draco were setting up a new room to practice in with the additional people.
The past week had done nothing but enforce Harry's desire to undermine Umbridge and work with the Defense group. Between the vile woman trying to capture Sirius when he was in the Gryffindor fireplace, and Harry having another pain in his scar from Voldemort, he was certain that the students needed this training more than anything else.
Harry had looked expectantly to Faykan to design the room, but his friend shook his head slightly to indicate that Harry was to do it. Closing his eyes, Harry cleared his mind from everything except what they needed; a large open floor for dueling, shelves with books on spells and a place to sit where people could observe, as well as doors leading to each house's common rooms, or in the case of Slytherin directly into their dormitory.
The room did not disappoint. The walls and floor seemed to be made of the same black stone that Orthanc was comprised of, while the ceiling was covered in the same enchantment the Great Hall had upon it, minus the weather outside, as it was pouring rain at the moment. There were four doors, one in each corner, styled with the symbol and colours of a Hogwarts house upon them, and a large raised platform in the center of the room that could be seen from anywhere in the room.
The walls were lined with wooden bookcases and instead of chairs there were large silk cushions on the floor. A set of shelves at the far end of the room carried a range of instruments such as Sneakoscopes, Secrecy Sensors and a large, cracked Foe-Glass that Harry was sure had hung, the previous year, in the fake Moody's office. There were also racks of swords and other martial weapons, but Harry wasn't sure if they were quite ready to attempt them as of yet.
"These will be good when we're practicing Stunning," said Ron enthusiastically, prodding one of the cushions with his foot.
"And just look at these books!" said Hermione excitedly, running a finger along the spines of the large leather-bound tomes. "'A Compendium of Common Curses and their Counter-Actions'... 'The Dark Arts Outsmarted'... 'Self-Defensive Spellwork'... wow..." She looked around at Harry, her face glowing, and he saw that the presence of hundreds of books had finally convinced Hermione that what they were doing was right. "Harry, this is wonderful, there's everything we need here!"
Harry saw Faykan smile at him as the taller boy made his way to inspect the rack of swords. Draco joined Hermione in taking books off the shelves and skimming them over while they waited for the others to arrive.
There was a gentle knock on the door. Harry looked round. Ginny, Neville, Lavender, Parvati and Dean had arrived.
"Whoa," said Dean, staring around, impressed. "What is this place?"
Harry began to explain, but before he had finished more people had arrived and he had to start all over again. By the time eight o'clock arrived, every cushion was occupied. Harry moved across to the door and turned the key protruding from the lock; it clicked in a satisfyingly loud way and everybody fell silent, looking at him. Hermione carefully marked her page of 'Jinxes for the Jinxed'and set the book aside.
"Well," said Harry, slightly nervously. "This is the place we've chosen for practice sessions and you've… err, obviously found it ok."
"It's fantastic!" said Cho, and several people murmured their agreement.
"It's bizarre," said Fred, frowning around at it. "We once hid from Filch in here, remember, George? But it was just a broom cupboard then."
"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, stepping between the cushions to reach them. "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..."
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. "Well, I've been thinking about the sort of stuff we ought to do first and, err…"
He noticed a raised hand. "What, Hermione?"
"I think we ought to elect a leader," said Hermione.
"One would think," Blaise Zabini said, "That as Harry is the one teaching us, he would be the 'leader'."
"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 hand, even Zacharias Smith, though he did it very half-heartedly.
"Err… right, thanks," said Harry, who could feel his face burning. "And… what, Hermione?"
"I also think we ought to have a name," she said brightly, her hand still in the air. "It would promote a feeling of team spirit and unity, don't you think?"
"Can we be the Anti-Umbridge League?" said Angelina hopefully.
"Or the Ministry of Magic are Morons Group?" suggested Fred.
"I was thinking," said Hermione, frowning at Fred, "more of a name that didn't tell everyone what we were up to, so we can refer to it safely outside meetings."
"The Defence Association?" Luna suggested, "The D.A. for short, so nobody knows what we're talking about?"
"Yeah, the D.A.'s good," said Ginny. "Only let's make it stand for Dumbledore's Army, because that's the Ministry's worst fear, isn't it?"
There was a good deal of appreciative murmuring and laughter at this.
"All in favor of the D.A.?" said Hermione bossily, kneeling up on her cushion to count. "That's a majority, motion passed!"
She pinned the piece of parchment with all of their signatures on it on to the wall and wrote across the top in large letters:
'DUMBLEDORE'S ARMY'
"Right," said Harry, when she had sat down again, "shall we… what now?" he said, looking at Faykan, who had raised his hand as well.
"Well, if were going to do this right, with a name and leaders and everything, shouldn't we also have a symbol, like the four houses do? I had a small idea I think everyone would like…"
He waved his wand and above Harry's head a large banner appeared featuring a silver lightning bolt with four large strips behind it; one for each house's colours, red, yellow, blue and green. Many people murmured appreciatively at the banner, but Harry felt his face flushing at the chosen symbol. "All in favor?" Hermione asked, and counted the hands again. "Motion passed."
"Alright, may we now get practicing then?" Harry said, stifling any possible interruptions, "I was thinking, the first thing we should do is Expelliarmus, you know, the Disarming Charm. I know it's pretty basic but I've found it really useful…"
"Oh, please,"said Zacharias Smith, rolling his eyes and folding his arms. "I don't think Expelliarmus is exactly going to help us against You-Know-Who, do you?"
"Harry if I may?" Faykan said softly, rising to his feet and beckoning Zacharias toward the center platform that Harry was occupying. The Hufflepuff defiantly sauntered forward, drawing his wand to face off against Faykan.
Harry closed his eyes, knowing that the outcome was going to be rather humiliating, if not painful, for Zacharias. The two boys took dueling stances, and waited several seconds. Zacharias moved first, but before he could even begin an incantation Faykan whipped his wand in a tiny circle and launched a massive wave of red light at the Hufflepuff, sending his wand flying across the room and blasting the boy back into the far stone wall.
Most everyone laughed, and Zacharias fumed, after reorienting himself and extricating himself from the floor, "You were saying?" Faykan said mockingly as Zacharias then staggered after his wand, "Expelliarmus is far more useful than most give it credit for…"
"Ok," said Harry, trying to regain order and fight off laughter at the memory of Professor Snape doing the same thing to Lockhart three years ago. Faykan calmly sat back down, getting approving slaps on the back from everyone nearby, "I reckon we should all divide into pairs and practice." Harry called out to everyone.
It felt very odd to be issuing instructions, but not nearly as odd as seeing them followed. Everybody got to their feet at once and divided up. Faykan specifically partnered Neville before anyone could corner him. Harry smiled in thanks to him. He had been certain that poor Neville would have been left partnerless otherwise.
"Right… on the count of three, then; one, two, three…"
Potential Spoiler's Ahead: You Have Been Warned!
Personally, I really like the new retort that Harry has for Smith's insistence to know exactly what happened during the graveyard fight between him and Voldemort. it comes off significantly stronger than canons imo. but what does everyone else think? this is the turning point where Harry starts to come into his own, nudged along by Faykan to take charge and be stronger. does it seem that i have achieved that? let me know, as I use my fanfictions as a sort of proving ground for my writing style and experiment with certain aspects in preparation for writing my original works. many thanks in advanced, and ttyl in the next one, possibly Tuesday next! ~F