"Teddie, check out these books!" Mason gushed. He was standing on a wooden chair, running his index finger down the spines of leather-bound books on the bookcase. "A Compendium of Common Curses and their Counter-Actions… The Dark Arts Outsmarted… Self-Defensive Spell work…"
Astoria rolled her eyes and shook her head as she turned to Teddie. "How are we going to persuade him to leave here at the end of the night?" she asked.
"Maybe we could take out of the books with us?" Teddie suggested, wrapping an arm around the younger girl. "Don't worry, we'll get him out. I'll carry him if I have, too."
Astoria giggled at the mental image and Teddie smiled at the sound.
Looking around the room, Teddie took in the high walls lined with wooden bookcases and 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.
"What are you doing in here?"
Teddie looked around as the door opened and Harry, Ron, and Hermione stepped inside, slipping off the Invisibility cloak as they did. Hermione's eyes widened as she took in the room and, just like Mason, made a beeline for the bookcases.
Ron stared at Teddie, waiting for an answer.
"What?" Teddie asked. "We got the message to be here at 7:30," she shrugged. "We just got here a little earlier."
"How did you get in?" Ron asked, suspiciously.
"You're not the only one with friends that know secret places, Weasley," said Teddie. "I got a note back from Marcus at Dinner." She handed Harry a scrap of parchment from her pocket.
All it said was 'Seventh floor. Tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy'.
"I just asked the room for a place to fight," said Teddie. "Or, at least, a place where we could learn to fight. I mean, that is what this group is about, right?"
Harry nodded and handed the note back. "Sorry, we were just nervous that Umbridge had learned about this place," he said. "We can't be too sure, you know?"
"I swear, Harry, if Umbridge does find out about this place, she won't know about it from me or the Slytherins," said Teddie.
"I know," Harry muttered.
Teddie nodded once and looked around. She checked her watch and saw that they still had twenty minutes before anyone else was due to turn up.
"Do we have a name for this group?" Astoria asked. "Or are we just calling it the Defense Group?"
Teddie cocked an eye at Harry. "She's got a point," she agreed. "We need something to identify what we are."
Harry shrugged and looked to Hermione. This had been her idea, after all.
"Oh, well, I thought maybe we'd wait until everyone gets here and decide as a group, you know?" Hermione said.
"Sounds fair," said Daphne. "I mean, if we're all going to be risking our necks for this group then we should at least have a say in what goes on."
"Do you think we would need a leader?" Hermione asked.
"I thought that role belonged to Potter," said Blaise.
Harry opened and closed his mouth several times. When he couldn't think of a suitable argument, he closed it and remained silent.
Teddie bit back a smile. "Don't worry, Harry, you won't have to take full responsibility for all this," she said, reassuringly. "Like Daphne said, we're all risking the same to be here, and will all take responsibility for it."
Harry smiled thankfully.
There was a small knock on the door and a second later it opened, emitting Ginny Weasley, Dean Thomas and several other Gryffindors into the room.
The group looked around in awe.
"What is this place?" Dean asked.
"How did they get in here?" Lavender asked, pointing at the Slytherins.
"They were here first," said Ron.
Lavender shared a look with Parvati. "How did they know about this place?" she asked. "Why would they turn up early?"
Teddie rolled her eyes. "It's not a conspiracy," she said. "We just got here early. No big deal about it. Would you prefer it if we were the last to turn up next week?"
Lavender sniffed and shrugged indifferently.
"Whatever," Teddie muttered, turning away from the Gryffindors. She should've guessed that the opposing house would have issues with her and her friends being a part of Harry's group, especially since most Slytherin's seemed to be loving the fact that Umbridge was building her way up the faculty food chain.
As the minutes ticked closer to 8:00pm, the room got considerably fuller. Soon, all cushions were occupied, and Harry stood in the middle of a mass of students from all four houses.
"What is this place?" asked four year, Colin Creevey. He sat alongside his brother Dennis.
"It's the place we've found for our sessions," said Harry.
"It's fantastic," said Cho Chang, and several people murmured their agreement.
"It's bizarre," said Fred. "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. He was standing in the far corner, looking at the shelf of dark objects.
"Dark detectors," said Harry. "Basically, they all show when Dark Wizards or enemies are around, but you don't want to rely on them too much, they can be fooled."
There was a second small murmur around the room.
"Fascinating," Daphne murmured. "How about we settle on a name, Potter, and move on with what we're here to do? I mean, not that Dark Detectors aren't interesting, but if they can be fooled why are we wasting precious time on them?"
Teddie rolled her eyes. "While that could've been said a lot more friendly," she said, nudging Daphne. "I sort of agree. I mean, we can't be caught out after hours, after all. Even if we do have prefects from each house."
Ernie cast a scared look at his wristwatch.
"Okay," said Harry, nodding. "Anyone have ideas?"
"Can we be the Anti-Umbridge League?" Angelina Johnson asked.
Teddie bit back a snort, but Blaise didn't bother,
Angelina cast a dark glance in his direction. "What?" she asked.
"You make us sound like some superhero team," said Blaise. "We're anything but, after all."
"What about the Ministry of Magic are Morons Group?" suggested Fred. "You can't find something wrong with that, surely," he added, glancing at Blaise.
"It's a tad long," said Hermione. "Plus, I was thinking of a name that didn't tell people what we were up too. Something we could talk about outside of here without drawing suspicion."
"The Defense Association?" said Cho. "The D.A. for short."
Teddie nodded. "I like that idea," she said. "It doesn't give away what we're doing, but it also emphasis it, too."
"Yeah," Ginny agreed. "I like the idea of D.A., but make it stand for Dumbledore's Army, instead, because that is what the Ministry's worst fear, isn't it?"
Teddie looked hesitant.
"What is it, Ted?" Harry asked.
Teddie shrugged. "Nothing, I think it's a good idea," she agreed. "I'm just wondering if calling it 'Dumbledore's Army' will work out in the long run? I mean, what if someone outside of here does catch wind of it? What if it does get back to the Ministry? Do we really want to give them a reason to crack down on us? Do we really want to make their rumours a reality?"
Harry looked thoughtful.
"Well, what if we just keep Dumbledore's Army on the sign-up parchment," said Hermione, pinning their signatures to a bulletin board, "and just use D.A. around Hogwarts? No one will know what we're talking about then."
Teddie looked considerate. "I guess that sounds better," she said, although she didn't sound so sure.
"All in favour?" Hermione asked.
The majority of the room raised their hands.
"Motion passed!" said Hermione. She tapped the top of the signatures list and the words 'DUMBLEDORE'S ARMY' appeared in block writing.
Teddie stared at the title, a feeling of anguish in the pit of her stomach. Her left forearm itched, and she resisted the urge to reach over and scratch it. She gently reminded herself that it was all in her head, and that she had nothing to worry about.
Snape had made sure of that.
"Right, well, shall we get practicing then? 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 useful –"
"Oh, please," said 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?"
"I've used it against him," said Harry, "it saved my life last June."
Smith opened his mouth.
"But if you think it's beneath you, you can leave," Harry said.
Smith didn't move.
"Anyone else have any objections?" Harry asked, looking around the room.
No one spoke.
Teddie shrugged as Harry met her gaze. "There is a reason we learn to walk before we run," she said. "Starting at the bottom and working our way up will help us in the long run."
A small murmur of agreement.
Harry smiled and Teddie returned it.
"Okay, I reckon we should all divide into pairs and practice," said Harry, looking around at everyone.
Instinctively, Teddie turned to Theo and wrapped her arm around his. Blaise and Daphne shared a smirk as they paired up, with Mason and Astoria turning to one another.
"You can practice with me," said Harry to Neville. He always seemed to be left out when it came to partnerships. "Right = on the count of three, then – one, two, three –"
The room exploded with shouts of Expelliarmus and wants flew in all directions, missed spells hit books on shelves and sent them flying through the air.
Teddie ducked as Theo's spell shot at her.
"Hey, no fair," Theo whined.
Teddie laughed. "Sorry, reflex," she said. "At least my shield didn't unlock."
"Fair," said Theo. "How about we try that again without you ducking?"
"Okay."
The pair held their wands out in front of them.
"Hey."
Teddie lowered her wand as Harry sidled up to her. "Hey," she said. "You still okay with all this?"
Harry shrugged. "I guess," he said. "It's weird giving orders, but even weird to see them followed."
"You'll get used to it," said Teddie. She raised her wand and blocked the Disarming Charm that Theo threw at her. Her eyes widened and she bit back a smile as Theo narrowed his eyes, playfully. "Sorry," she apologised again.
Harry laughed. "You're really good at Charms, aren't you?" he asked.
"Yeah," said Teddie. It wasn't her being egotistical, she was good at Charms. She got full marks on all her homework essays, and her exams in the previous years had all be Outstanding's.
"Well, why don't you help me out sometimes?" Harry asked. "You know, suggest some Charms that we can practice during these meetings?"
Teddie glanced around the room. "I don't think they would appreciate that," she said.
"Why not?" Harry asked. "You've fought Voldemort just as much as I have. You have ways to deal with him, too."
"If you think punching them as a great way to deal with a problem, then sure," said Theo.
Teddie stuck her tongue out. "It's faster!" she defended.
Harry chuckled. "What do you think?" he asked, looking and sounding hopeful.
"Maybe we should ask them first," said Teddie. "I don't want it to seem like I am taking over, and besides, this is our first session."
"Well, I don't really care what they think," said Harry. "I care what you think. If they don't agree then they're missing out on some great charms because you definitely know your stuff when it comes to Charms."
Teddie smiled. "I'll think about it," she said. "Even if they don't want me to help you as teacher, I can still suggest some ideas to you."
Harry nodded. "Okay," he said.
He wandered away and Teddie turned back to Theo. "What?" she asked.
"At the risk of sounding like a broken record, but, since when do you care about what others say or think?" Theo asked.
"Since things changed for me," said Teddie.
"What does that mean?"
Teddie swallowed, her mind flashing back to her conversation with Professor Snape last night. He had warned her about not breathing a word about the Dark Mark to anyone, including her friends, at least until they could figure out a way to deal with the problems it would bring.
"Ted?" Theo asked.
"I'm sorry," Teddie apologised.
Theo frowned in confusion. "Sorry, about what?" he asked.
Teddie took a deep breath and shook her head. "I –" she broke off as a short, curt whistle cut through the noise.
Silence fell and everyone turned to face Harry.
"That was really good," said Harry, "but we've overrun, we'd better leave it here. Same time, same place next week?"
"Sooner," someone yelled.
"The Quidditch season is about to start, we need team practices, too!" Angelina said, shutting down the idea.
"Let's say next Wednesday night, then," said Harry, "and we can discuss additional meetings them. Come on, we'd better get going…"
He pulled out the Marauder's Map again and checked it carefully for signs of teachers on the seventh floor. He let them all leave in threes and fours, watching as their tiny dots scampered back to their common rooms.
"Snape's patrolling the Dungeons," said Harry, looking at Teddie.
"That doesn't surprise me," said Teddie, shaking her head. "Don't worry, we'll be okay."
"Are you sure?" Harry asked. "I don't want you to get into trouble."
Teddie smiled. "Promise. Well done tonight, Harry," she said, gathering up her things and heading for the door with her friends. "I'll let you know about what we talked about."
Harry nodded and looked back at the map as Teddie slipped out of the door, and he watched as she made her way down to the dungeons on the ground floor.