In The Trunk

A light rain misted down on the Hogwarts grounds. Students, third year and above, lined up on the route to go to Hogsmeade Village. Mixed in with the other students, waiting for Argus Filch to confirm their names, Siria Potter-Black held Lily Moon's hand.

For the occasion, Siria wore a knee-length, raw umber, flared skirt with an olive green long sleeve shirt. Black leggings that looked splattered in paint protected her legs from the cold air. She wore her usual black jacket with the Moony & Padfoot logo embroidered into its back and her usual boots. Wrapped around her neck was a yellow and black scarf.

Lily Moon blushed furiously, with her nose tucked into the crimson and gold scarf wrapped around her neck. She wore her huge, pink padded coat and a navy knitted cap with the pom pom ball strung to its top. Though she painted her nails, Siria couldn't see with the heated gloves Lily Moon wore.

Argus Filch leaned in and gave Siria a long sniff. Siria pulled away. "I'll be watching you, Potter-Black, one sniff of dungbombs and it's detention for you," he said. Moon squeezed Siria's hand to stop her from snapping back. [B5, 334]

"Why does Filch think you're smuggling dungbombs?" Lily Moon asked. She swung Siria's hand as they walked.

"Someone probably told him for a laugh," Siria shook her head. "Do you mind if we stop at the craft store?"

"Not at all," She smiled. "What kinds of crafts do you do?"

"Oh, it's for—" but Siria was drown by whistles and jeers from Pansy Parkinson with her usual girls.

"Hey Moon, didn't I tell you Potter's not a real boy!" Parkinson gasped through her laughter. "She's just tall!"

"Ignore her," Lily Moon tugged Siria's hand to continue.

"Moon, you're so small no one can see you behind Potter" Parkinson added, but Lily Moon marched onward with Siria's hand.

"You're perfectly sized," Siria grumbled as she loosened the Hufflepuff scarf inside the craft shop, "not a tall boy." Moon stretched for a jar just out of her reach. Siria gave a half smile, reached over Lily Moon, grabbed the jar, and placed it into her extended hand. With her eyes on the jar and her back so Siria, she smiled.

"You're perfectly sized too," Lily Moon whispered. Siria leaned down. She rested her nose just above Lily Moon's hat. "You handed Susan and me pots and shovels in Herbology, and Hannah a book in the library…" her voice grew steadily more quiet.

"Yeah?" Siria asked. Lily Moon turned her chin down to her chest.

"KHM!" A hoarse cough startled Siria. She snapped her hand from the spot above Moon and stood up. "Can I help you ladies?" asked a short, gruff looking man with a thick enough mustache he had Uncle Vernon beat. Siria pressed the back of her hand to her nose and mouth. She shook her head.

"No, sir. We're just… uh," her eyes scanned around and fell on a barrel of yarn, which she pointed to, "looking for yarn, which we've—- er," Siria stepped up to the barrel, her hand still pressed to her face, "which we've found."

"And what are you using the yarn for?" the man asked.

"Oh, it's a gift," Siria tilted her head down. Had her hair not been a tight french braid, it may have veiled her face. "My friend makes socks."

"Then you don't want that," he told her.

"But yarn is yarn, right?" Siria asked. She glanced at Lily Moon, who rested her head, too embarrassed to look up, against the shelf she stood before.

After a lecture of different types of yarn, Siria left with more than she intended to buy. Lily Moon bought the jar Siria had grabbed, but seemed unsure what to do with it. The jar was full of different coloured and sized beads. Her upturned brown eyes were glued it.

"So, what'll you be making?" Siria asked as they walked down toward the view of the Shrieking Shack.

"Bracelets?" Lily Moon wondered. She gave the jar a small and gentle shake.

"You may need some wire or string then," Siria said.

"Oh, I suppose I'll go back after," she said. Siria let go and pulled a small paper bag from her pocket. She handed the bag over. Lily Moon peered inside. "How did you know?"

"I figured you were buying the beads to be nice," Siria said.

"After he… I couldn't bring myself to say that I just wanted to show you that you're fine."

"I mean," Siria took her hand again and smiled, "I've got the cutest girlfriend, so I'm pretty fine."

Alice sat on a bench in the clearing. The bench was one of five identical wooden, pastel blue painted benches. Alice smirked at Siria and flashed her gold and silver painted nails. "Thought you chickened out after all," Alice said. She stepped off the bench and opened its chair "The others are already inside."

Inside the trunk was a room taken up by a large round table. The middle of the table had been carved out, to make a large ring. Cassius stood over a chair, furthest from the steps. Cedric stood in the middle of the room, counting chairs and names with Hermione, over some crates. Maddy and Patricia sat a chair to Cassius's left. Ron sat two chairs to Cassius's right. He nodded to Siria, who gave a short nod back.

"Over here," Cassius beckoned Siria. She followed with Lily Moon's hand in hers. As she passed, Siria patted Ron's shoulder.

"All the way over here?" Siria asked him.

"I's so people can see us when they enter," Cassius told her. He extended a hand to Lily Moon. "Cassius Warrington."

"Lily Moon," she whispered as she shook his hand. "Is there somewhere I should sit?"

"Any chair on the other side of that one," and Cassius pointed to the empty chair beside Ron. "Colin'll already be disappointed to be so far from you and without Dennis."

"Second year," Siria clicked her tongue. Lily Moon patted Siria's arm.

"You'll do great," she said, "both of you."

"Sweet girl," Cassius leaned in to whisper when Moon sat down. "What's she doing with a brute like—" Siria socked in him in the arm. "I'm only joking," he laughed. "We've got a few extra chairs," Cassius began.

"A few," Siria hissed and looked around the room. There were at least fifty seats in the room. "Are you kidding me?"

"P.B., we opened the lessons to anyone we thought trustworthy," Cassius put his hands on her shoulders. "Whether is was one student or one hundred, you could teach them on your own—"

"I—"

"You could," he gave her a light shake. "And if we taught a hundred people, think of how many lives they could save."

Siria scanned around the room. Her mind filled them with fellow Hogwarts students. It aged them, to well after the war. All but one chair was filled in future she hoped for. If she taught them well enough, her chair would be the only empty one.

Cassius and Siria took their seats. Cedric sat beside Patricia. Hermione took the seat behind Siria and held her hand beneath the table. Siria nodded. The door opened. Daphne Greengrass led Astoria and Colin down the stairs. Millicent Bulstrode followed Astoria's friends Ren Franklin, Leah Greyson, and Jeanie Brewer. The lid closed.

"I wanted to smuggle Dennis in, but he said that, as long as he can still come, he doesn't mind," Colin told Siria. He stood between Siria and Hermione. "Can I take pictures?" He asked and raised the camera around his neck.

"Not today, Colin," Hermione said. "Maybe once we have a few lessons."

"People probably want to be told there'll be a picture," Siria said.

"Okay," Colin sighed.

"Colin," Ron called. He patted the back of the chair beside him.

"I get to sit there?" Colin asked. He rushed into the seat, before Ron could change his mind. "I didn't think you liked me."

The door opened again. Cho Chang entered with her friend, Siria thought her name was Mary Edgecombe, or something along that. They sat with Cedric. Alicia Spinnet, Angelina Johnson, Katie Bell, filed in. Soon after, Neville, Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnigan, Lavender Brown, and Parvati and Padma Patil came down the stairs. They were followed by Ginny, Anthony Goldstein, Michael Corner, and Terry Boot. [B5, 337-338]

Under the table, Siria fumbled with her earplugs. After she snuck up on Hermione, she had not worn them. It was unlikely, but Siria hoped they would keep out the thundering of her heart. She slipped them in and caught the door opening again.

Susan Bones entered with her fellow Hufflepuff fifth years, Ernie Macmillan, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Hannah Abbott, and a Hufflepuff Quidditch team member Siria thought was called Smith. Cedric's friends followed right after, Benjamin Wilkins, Gilbert Snow, Jon Pack, Trevor Racer, and Doris Nelson. [B5, 337-338]

Fay Dunbar, Mandy Brocklehurst, and Luna Lovegood came down the stairs. Then Fred and George with Lee Jordan. A few minutes went by the nothing. People chattered with frequent glances to Cassius and Siria. Finally, Alice Travers climbed down the stairs. She nodded to Cassius and Siria and made her way to the seat beside Cassius. [B5, 337-338]

"A few," Siria repeated under her breath. There were maybe ten chairs open and scattered about. Sirius apparently designed the room to fit sixty some odd people. She felt a little lucky that less arrived. As it was, could she watch the twenty or so pairs of people that would duel in the Chamber of Secrets?

Beneath the table, Cedric gave a quick wave of his wand. The crates opened. Bottles of butterbeer flew out, one to a person, from the first crate. Then a pumpkin pasty on a napkin zoomed up from the other crate, and out to each chair.

There was a short moment of excited chatter, in which people opened their bottles. Then silence fell, and eyes fell on Cassius and Siria. A speech. Cold water splashed over her. They expected someone to speak. Siria was on her feet before she realized.

"You know why you're here," Siria told them, "unless you took a very wrong turn in the town," she added with a short smile. "Cassius and I are offering Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons because— well, Umbridge isn't," a few people whistled and Siria tried to still her heart. Words bounced through her head like she was on Veritaserum.

"It's fine if you're here to pass your O.W.L. or N.E.W.T., but this is about more than that," Siria took a full breath. Her chest rose and with it her head and shoulders. "This is about survival. Voldemort is back—"

"Says you," said the Hufflepuff Quidditch player. Siria arched an eyebrow in striking resemblance to Professor McGonagall. She smiled to forced back her knee-jerk retort of "can you see?" which was far too like Snape.

"Who are you?" Ron asked with glare. Siria's smile lost its tension.

"Zacharias Smith," said the boy "and I think we've got the right to know exactly what makes them" he looked at Cassius and Siria, "say You-Know-Who is back." [B5, 340]

"Smith," said Siria, "where were you during the third task of the Triwizard Tournament?" Siria asked.

"I was in the stands," said Smith.

"What did you do during the task?" Siria asked.

"Watched the mirrors," he said, his voice shrank.

"If someone asked you to recount what you saw, what would you say?" Siria asked.

"Not sure what I saw."

"What makes you think you can trust what you hear from me then?" Siria asked him. She turned her attention to the rest of the room.

"We aren't here to recount what happened in the graveyard— if you think you want to know what it's like to be surrounded by Death Eaters with Voldemort trying to kill you, you're mistaken," Siria told them. "Cassius and I are offering to teach people who want to learn how to defend themselves. We've made a system to contact you on where and when the meeting will be, and tell you who will be teaching—"

"You won't be teaching?" Seamus Finnigan asked.

"Cassius and I are sharing the duty," said Siria. "He'll teach some, I'll teach some, and we'll teach together sometimes. It'll make it more difficult for Umbridge to figure out."

"What will you be teaching?" Anthony Goldstein asked. Siria bit her tongue for a moment. She wanted to push through, but saw only more interruptions from here.

"Dueling, protective spells, and, when we can, tactics," Siria said with a sigh, "should I open the floor to questions for a moment?" Susan Bones's hand shot into the air. "Yes?"

"Will you be teaching the Patronus Charm?" Susan Bones asked (B5, 341).

"Yeah," Siria nodded, "it's one of the spells we're planning for after break. We'll be teaching a lot of the spells we used in the Triwizard Tournament, and," Siria paused, "and a few from the graveyard."

"Is it true you killed a basilisk with the sword in Dumbledore's office?" Terry Boot asked Siria. He looked down when she looked at him. "One of the portraits told me," he added (B5, 342).

"She did!" said Colin Creevey. Siria smiled at him then at Terry Boot.

"Yes, though, if not for Fawkes, I wouldn't've survived it," Siria confessed. "The basilisk pierced my arm." Lavender gasped.

"Did it leave a scar?" Colin asked.

"No,"

"It didn't," Lavender told them. Siria tried not to blush.

"In our first year, Siria saved the Sorcerous Stone—" Neville told them (B5, 342).

"Sorcerer's" Hermione hissed in correction (B5, 342).

"That was a lot of luck, and Hermione and Ron were with me," Siria said. "Which brings me to where I was heading, so please hold onto your questions. Cassius and I can teach you what we know, we can show you how to duel, but there's no guarantee it will save you. When you're staring danger in the face, you'll see how prepared it is for you." She closed her eyes and filled her lungs again. "It's always changing and ready to strike again with more force.

"We could practice for years, but if you can't be adaptable, if you can't," Siria reached above her heart, as if she could grab the force she wanted to tell them about. "If you can't light a fire under yourself to push on, you'll get swallowed up. So, we can teach you the spells and how to make a plan, but I don't know if we can teach you a reason to get back up or to fight when it looks hopeless."

They were silent. Siria sat back down. She kept herself firm against the chair. Her hands gripped it so tight they hurt. Had she gone too far? Wouldn't it be cruel to give them false hope?

"Well," Hermione rose, "are we agreed we want to take lessons from Siria and Cassius?" (B5, 343). A general murmur of agreement carried around the room. "Then," Hermione hesitated and looked at her bag, "I think..."

"Hang on," Angelina said when Hermione paused again, "this can't clash with Quidditch." [B5, 344]

"It has to!" Siria interrupted over Cho Chang and Zacharias. "Listen: Cassius and I are going to try to do at least two lessons a week— people are going to miss some and that's for the better. If someone thinks they figured what's going on, it'll be hard to get how many students or which if people sometimes miss lessons."

"Yes," Hermione said. "Anyone who misses a lesson, can ask another member about what they missed and catch up in the next lesson. Personally, though, this is rather important, we're talking about learning to defend ourselves against Vol— Voldemort and the Death Eaters—" (B5, 344)

"Well said!" Ernie Macmillan agreed (B5, 344). "I think this is possibly the most important thing we'll do this year, even with our O.W.L." He paused, waiting for someone to protest, but no one did. "I'm at a loss to see why the Ministry would send such a teacher, who actively prevents us from using defensive spells—" [B5, 344]

"We've been told," said Hermione, "that, the Ministry has the ridiculous idea that Dumbledore is raising students into a private army." Everyone except those who stayed at Grimmauld Place over summer and Luna Lovegood looked surprised. [B5, 345]

"That makes sense," said Luna, "After all, Cornelius Fudge has got his own private army."

"What?" Neville asked. Siria read enough of Quibbler to think Luna's sources may not be accurate. [B5, 345]

"Hermione," Siria called before Hermione could argue with Luna about this. "You were saying?"

"Yes," Hermione sighed, "Yes." She pulled a piece of parchment and a quill from her bag. "We need to come up with a name, to promote team spirit and unity." [B5, 346 & 391]

"Can we be the Anti-Umbridge League?" Angelina joked (B5, 391)

"Or the Ministry of Magic Are Morons Groups?" Fred asked (B5, 392).

"I was hoping for something that didn't tell everyone what we're up to, so we can discuss it in public," she said and frowned at Fred (B5, 392).

"What about the Defense Association or the D.A.?" Cho proposed (B5, 392)

"D.A. is good," said Ginny, "but we should make it be for 'Dumbledore's Army,' since that's what the Ministry is most afraid of." (B5, 392).

Hermione held a vote, which was almost unanimous. She tilted her parchment accordingly then glanced around the room. "I think everyone should write their name down, just so we know who was here and," Hermione hesitated with the quill in her hand, "and if you sign, you're agreeing not to tell anyone— Umbridge, the Ministry, other students— what we're up to."

"But," Zacharias said, "we had to sign for you to tell us about here." Hermione pulled a few sheets of parchment out of her bag. She put one with Zacharias Smith's signature, and several others on top. Hermione showed it to him then handed them to Cassius. He tapped them with his wand and they turned to ash.

"That was so people would agree not to tell Umbridge about this meeting and here," Hermione said. "I'm more worried someone will tell about the future."

Siria took the parchment from Hermione and signed. Cassius did the same and they slid the parchment, quill, and ink down and around the table. Zacharias paused and glared at them.

"Sign or you're out," Cassius said. His voice startled Zacharias, as it was first thing Cassius said the entire meeting. "If you can't put your name down, then you already don't have what it takes to risk your life to save it." Zacharias signed. He glared at Cassius, but no one else hesitated. [B5, 346]

When the parchment returned to Hermione, she signed. It felt as though they signed a contract (B5, 347). Cassius and Siria knew they had. The question was if Hermione knew as much about magical contracts as she hoped.

"Our first lesson is tomorrow morning, after breakfast," Siria told them, "show up at Moaning Myrtle's."

"What?" Michael Corner asked. "But that's a girl's—"

"It's also out of order," said Jeanie Brewer, one of Astoria's friends, "And too small for all of us."

"Take a leap of faith and show up, or don't," Siria told them. She flourished her hand at the stairs and door.

"I'll be there," Michael Corner said.

"See you then," Siria told him and the others.

Students filed out in small groups. A knock on the lid of the bench told them that it was clear. Lily Moon left with Susan Bones. Siria waited until only Hermione, Ron, Cassius, and Alice remained. They left together. Cassius tapped the bench with his wand and it shrunk to pocket size. Alice took his arm and they said their goodbyes.

"Mistress," Kreacher croaked. He pulled off Siria's Invisibility Cloak and gave her a gummy grin.

"You did fantastic," Siria told him and knelt to eye level. "Everything is all set. Thank you."

"Kreacher is happy to help Mistress," he said.

"Is there anything I could help you with?" Siria asked.

"Kreacher is fine. It is Kreacher's duty to help his Mistress," he told her. She resisted reminding him that he was free. Siria handed Hermione the Cloak and Hermione put it in her bag with the pocket sized bench.

"Thank you, really" Siria smiled. "If there is something I can do to return the favor, I'd like to."

"Kreacher is fine," he assured her. "Kreacher does have work to do, if Mistress is done."

"Yes, of course," she hugged Kreacher. "Take care of yourself."

"Kreacher has Mistress's mail," he said and handed Siria a stack of letters.

CRACK

"Siria Potter-Black, charmer of house elves," Ron said with a gesture of viewing a banner. Siria rolled her eyes. "I'm just saying, mate, Dobby and Kreacher both."

"Hermione's more suited for the title," Siria said. "They were convinced being free was worse than death until she logiced them into freedom."

"Like you 'logiced' Zacharias Smith?" Hermione asked.

"Oh? Did I?" Siria replied with a note of being overly casual. "Compared to what you can do, I wouldn't think twice about my little thing."

"Hm," Hermione bumped her shoulder into Siria's as they walked, "I wonder."

"You think they'll show?" Ron asked.

"They will," Hermione said. "They definitely will."