"Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked Hermione from across the common room.
In response, she tucked her book under her arm and came to join me at the small table I had claimed to do my homework. All of my other friends were at quidditch practice and Harry had reportedly landed himself in another detention with Umbridge. I was feeling rather uptight about the whole situation since I wasn't even there to endure the medieval punishment with him. I had also noticed Hermione staring at me on and off for the past twenty minutes and finally lost my nerve.
"You're almost as short-tempered as Harry is lately," she said in greeting as she sat down across from me.
"Can I help you with something?" I asked again, wanting to brush over having to apologize for mine and Harry's behaviour.
"Actually, I wanted to ask for your help in something to do with Harry," Hermione explained.
"And what is it that you want him to do?" I asked suspiciously.
I knew Harry was more rough around the edges lately and that I wasn't all that much better off. I could see it in the way my friends looked at me in concern or how students seemed to whisper behind me whenever I passed them.
"Well, I think that we really ought to be learning more spells, and I think Harry is the one to teach us," Hermione stated confidently.
I looked at her and saw how genuine she felt that Harry would make a proper teacher to learn more defensive spells.
"I mean, he's faced off against You Know Who three times now while in school and he can cast a full Patronus charm among all the other spells he used during the tournament last year," Hermione made her case.
"And you think he will say no so you want me to convince him?" I asked.
"Well, yes," Hermione answered plainly.
"And what makes you think I can change his stubborn mind?" it seemed Hermione was quite set on her idea if she was coming to me for help.
"Come on Marnie, you know how much he cares about your opinion. You know how much family means to him," Hermione replied. "And I know you're worried about him but I think this might do him some good to feel like he's actually preparing to fight against You Know Who instead of arguing with Umbridge all the time about it."
I sighed, knowing her point was coming across stronger than my resolve to keep Harry safe and away from any reminders of the tournament or Voldemort's uprising.
"Alright, when do I have to convince him by?" I asked in defeat.
"This weekend, I want to spread the word and have any interested parties meet at the Hog's Head during the Hogsmeade trip," Hermione explained with a nervous smile.
She knew it was a tall order to convince Harry by then so I sighed but nodded.
She beamed at me but left it at that before taking her book and disappeared up the girl's dormitory staircase. I figured tonight was as good as any since there were only a few days between now and the Hogsmeade trip so I waited for Harry to return from detention. About an hour later he came through the portrait hole looking rather irritated. I looked down and saw his raw bloodied hand. Thankfully, Hermione now had a stash of Murtlap essence which she had given me earlier in the week since she figured I was the next obvious candidate to land in another detention with Umbridge after Harry.
Harry caught my glance before he moved over to sit beside me. I passed him the bowl I had waiting to which he gratefully took and stuck his hand in.
"You waiting for the twins to get back?" Harry asked, knowing Ron and the others were still out practicing quidditch.
"Actually, I was asked to speak to you," I replied.
"Asked? By who?" Harry asked curiously.
"Well, Hermione was actually wondering if you would teach some interested students some defensive spells?" I explained, feeling I wasn't selling it good enough for Harry to agree.
"Marnie, what are you talking about? Why would anyone want me to teach them defense spells?"
"Well, Hermione wanted to spread the word and ask if people are interested in learning defensive magic, properly I mean. Honestly, I was against it too when she asked, but now I think it's a good idea," Harry started to object but I stopped him.
"Listen Harry, I think it's unbelievable bad luck what's all happened to you over the past five years. But, the fact that you survived and adapted enough to get through it all is miraculous in itself. As your big sister, I don't want you to get caught up in anymore of this. But knowing the truth, I know he's coming for you and I want you to be ready… no I need you to be ready because I can't have you mercilessly slaughtered like Cedric," my voice sank to a whisper by the time I finished speaking.
Harry looked at me with a mixture of horror, sadness and anger. "Alright, I'll do it. Not that I really think people will show up to whatever Hermione is planning. But Marnie, promise me that you'll be ready too, when the time comes?"
I could see the same worry in Harry's expression that I felt for him, knowing that Voldemort was bringing a war to us sometime soon.
"Of course. I'll have a great teacher won't I?" I beamed at him before I decided to call it a night as well.
I patted him on the shoulder and left him to soak his hand since he was deciding to wait and stay up to talk with Ron. I knew he wanted to catch up on what he missed at quidditch practice and I only hoped Ange didn't give him too hard a time.
XX
"This is exciting isn't it?" Angelina asked as the seven of us headed down to Hogsmeade that weekend.
"Yea, I can't believe Harry actually agreed to teach us," Lee added.
"Well, he does listen to his big sister," George replied rather cheekily.
"If only he listened to his quidditch captain as much as he listened to his sister," Angelina muttered under her breath.
"Come on Ange, lighten up! It's our day off," George said happily.
I watched between them as George continued to smile easily and Angelina blushed. I couldn't help but think that maybe something could still happen between them even though George hadn't really mentioned anything about it since last year.
"Have you ever been to the Hog's Head?" Alicia asked.
"No, I hear it's kind of dingy," Katie replied.
"Well, Hermione didn't want to arouse suspicion. I mean the Ministry has made it pretty clear that they don't want us learning defensive magic," I replied irritably.
"Is that the place?" Alicia asked pointing to the pub up ahead.
"There looks like a lot of people are heading in," Lee observed.
"Well, we are learning from the infamous Boy Who Lived," Fred said audaciously.
I swatted at him but he dodged my fist and took my hand, pulling me ahead until we made it to the pub. Once inside, I met Harry's uneasy gaze as we both noticed how many people had gotten Hermione's message.
"Well, I better go get the drinks then," Fred announced, counting the heads of everyone in the bar. "That'll be twenty-five butterbeers please."
The barkeep looked like he had never seen so many people in his establishment before.
I surveyed the room as George pulled me along to a group of vacant seats. I was happy to see Neville and Luna had come along with Ginny. A few more Gryffindor's from Harry's year were also in attendance along with some Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students. I met Liam's gaze who was sitting with Natalie. He offered a small smile but I knew he wouldn't come over. I was happy though to see that he had his hand casually laying on Natalie's leg which meant that they were probably still dating. However, I was less excited to see Cho Chang and a few of her friends sitting in the front row. It seemed she was eagerly staring at Harry, trying to keep his attention. Rumour had it from Ginny that Harry had actually gotten the nerve to ask her out after the meeting was over. I figured Harry had been too scared to tell me himself since he knew how I felt about the Ravenclaw seeker.
"Here you go Hare," Fred came back and handed me my drink.
I shoved my hand into my pocket to give him some change but he put his hand up to stop me.
"My treat," he replied with a smile. "But not for the rest of you, cough it up!"
Everyone who was now seated gave Fred their exact change who then paid the barkeeper for the drinks. "Alright, so I guess we better get started," Hermione announced.
I could tell she was nervous but the energy from the others felt different. Many of them seemed excited to hear what Harry had to say but I could tell a few others were here for other reasons.
"Erm—so I guess I had the idea for Harry to teach us all some defensive spells. I mean, we aren't really learning them properly in school so erm—I thought it would be a good idea to take matters into our own hands," Hermione explained.
"But what about our OWLs?" someone asked who was undoubtedly in their fifth year.
"Yes, well those are important too, but we also need to be able to defend ourselves… because Lord Voldemort is back," Hermione answered even more nervously.
I surveyed the room again and watched as everyone reacted. Many of the student squealed at the mention of the dark wizard's name. I cast my gaze over to Alicia who I heard shriek and she clenched her hands in her lap. I knew she had been having a difficult time wanting to believe in everything, but I knew she was more scared than ignorant. She was looking at Hermione like the bushy haired girl was confirming her worst fears.
"Who says he's actually back?" someone from the middle called out.
I held my breath as I narrowed my gaze to focus onto the boy wearing yellow robes. I recognized him from some of the parties I had been to with Cedric but I was never formally introduced.
"Dumbledore says he's back based on his account, but where's the proof?" the boy continued rather aggressively.
I knew he must be staring at Harry who put his hand up to cut in from Hermione explaining.
"Dumbledore told you all what happened last year, and that's all I'm going to say about it. I didn't agree to come here to explain in detail all of what happened," Harry replied firmly.
"So, we're just supposed to believe whatever you say while the Minister himself refutes your claim? All we know is that Cedric Diggory died last year," he continued.
"Zacharias, that's enough," I moved my gaze over to see that it was Liam telling him off.
My fists were clenched tight at my sides and I realised I hadn't taken a breath in a while since my vision was starting to blur. I could also tell Harry was losing his patience as this boy tried goading him into recounting the events of Cedric's murder. I knew Harry wasn't going to talk about it, but I couldn't take hearing Cedric's death mentioned so casually. When I pushed back my chair to stand up, the legs scratched the uneven flooring, causing the group to turn their focus towards me. Many of them looked nervous now that I was going to say something when most of them could only stomach whispering about me behind my back.
"If all you want are scary ghost stories about your housemate's murder, then you really don't deserve to be here or talk about him like his memory doesn't matter. Why the hell does it bloody well matter how he died when in the end Cedric was murdered by Voldemort just like Dumbledore says," I noticed many people flinch at my use of Voldemort's name, even seeing Fred grimace beside me.
I knew people were looking at me like a wounded animal, including Harry who wouldn't meet my gaze, or Liam who was turned away altogether.
"So, we're not here to discuss a student being murdered, and if you are then leave. But, if you want to learn how to properly defend yourself like the Ministry is refusing to do, then shut up and listen," I finished before sitting back down.
I watched the boy scoff and turn back around to face Harry, but no one said a word or refuted my speech.
"So, erm—like I was saying, I think we should set up some meetings so we can practice defense properly," Hermione started speaking again, trying to cut the tension that was left in the room.
Everyone seemed more on board with the idea now that I had put them all off from rehashing the events of Cedric's death. Many of the students started asking Harry which spells he could actually perform. Cho even boasted about all the spells he used during the tournament last year and I watched as Harry locked eyes with her in surprise.
"Alright, so we agree that we want Harry to teach us, so now we have to think of a meeting area," Hermione continued to keep everyone on track.
"Wait, we have to make sure the meetings don't clash with quidditch practice," Angelina piped in.
Others from the different teams agreed but Hermione shook her head irritably. "Yes, we will make sure we find a suitable date, but we are talking about learning spells to help defend ourselves against Voldemort."
"We'll think of a meeting spot later, so if I can have everyone write down their names," Hermione concluded as she pulled out a piece of parchment.
At this, everyone paused from their previous excitement.
"Well, we can't be caught up in this… we're prefects," one boy said from Hufflepuff as well.
"It's not like I would leave this list lying around Ernie!" Hermione replied indignantly.
I continued to watch everyone's hesitation before I resolutely stood up and pushed through everyone to stand in front of Harry.
"Do you have a quill?" I asked Hermione as she looked at me with an expression of gratitude. "Here you go!" she replied.
I took it from her and signed my name before turning around to pass it on to someone else. I figured I would need to physically go up to someone to pass it on, but Fred was standing readily behind me. After that everyone who had showed up made a line to sign their name until the loud mouthed boy was the last one.
"Alright, we'll be in touch. And make sure to keep this quiet!" Hermione warned as everyone nodded and headed out to enjoy the remainder of their Hogsmeade visit.
"Well, that went pretty well," Fred said, standing beside me as I watched the last of the students filter out.
"That one kid is a bloody piece of work," George added with chagrin.
"Yea, we'll see how it goes. I'm sure Hermione will organise it effectively," I said.
I noticed Cho waiting in the corner for Harry to finish up with Hermione and Ron. I couldn't stop the dread I felt at seeing her waiting to go out on a date with my brother but figured he had put up with a lot more when I dated Cedric.
"Hey Marnie?" I heard Alicia say to grab by attention.
I looked over at her, noticing the frown evident on her face.
"I'm sorry, for being so quick to dismiss what happened to Cedric and everything. I always believed you, but I didn't want to face it. But, I know you and Harry wouldn't lie, so I apologise," she said quietly.
I smiled before walking over and put my hand on her shoulder.
"I don't want to be right either Leesh, but I can't go around pretending Cedric wasn't murdered," I replied.
She nodded and hugged me. I let her and felt relieved that she had finally come around.
"Another round of butter beers at The Three Broomsticks?" Fred asked to lighten the mood.
Alicia pulled back and nodded, causing me to smile back at her. "Lee's buying!"
I smirked at Alicia as Lee called out after us that he was too broke to buy all of us a round. Ignoring Lee, our group took off running towards the regular pub and I almost forgot how sad this trip was making me. Last time I was here was on a date with Cedric and now I had just defended his murder against a loud-mouthed idiot who was a Hufflepuff no less.
When the seven of us stormed into The Three Broomsticks, Fred dragged me to go find a table while the rest of them fought over who was buying.
"Hare, you okay?" Fred asked once we secured a large enough table.
"Is it alright if I say no?" I replied honestly.
Fred moved over the bench until he was right beside me. I could feel the side of his leg lightly brushing mine as he leaned in closer.
"I would always rather an honest answer Hare. And just know, that George and I—no this time I'm only speaking for myself. Hare, I want to be there. I know I can't change how you're feeling but I can be here for you so you're not alone," Fred said as if he was pleading for my permission to allow him to help me.
I reached out my hand and gently folded it over the top of his. "What else could I expect from my sworn protector?"
Fred only smiled and moved so my hand was now folded in his. Again, I didn't know how to react to Fred and knew that his behaviour was changing towards me. All I knew was that feeling Fred's hand against mind grounded me more than anything else and that was all I wanted right now. I didn't want to be the pitiable student who was unlucky enough to have been dating Hogwart's dead champion. Of course I still loved Cedric but carrying around my broken heart was heavy enough without dealing with all the fallout. Fred was offering me a lifeline and I was selfish enough to take it, or else continue thinking about death and how I should have been the dead champion instead.