A/N: I wished I owned Harry Potter. Alas, I do not. Ms. Rowling, I'd be happy to take it off your hands

A/N: I realized as I was writing this that Neville was becoming fairly similar to Harry, just kind of taking his place. Thanks to my beta for pointing this out. Hopefully from this point on I can start to differentiate him, because it is no fun to write a different story and try and create new conflict with the same characters.

Chapter 12: Warring Factions

November, 1995

Educational Decree #31: The High Inquisitor will have the power to form the Inquisitorial Squad

"What in the world is with the new educational degree?" Daphne asked her boyfriend as they sat down for breakfast.

"McGonagall explained it to me and Clarke last night." Daphne held back a frown at that. Emma Clarke was a source of tension between the two of them. Daphne had spent enough time in the common room reserved for the two Head students to know that the bubbly 7th year Ravenclaw had designs for her boyfriend, and to Daphne, the designs were obvious. Cedric remained adamant that the Head Girl was not flirting with him. Boys, always so clueless. "Apparently Umbridge felt dissatisfied with the prefect system."

"Trying to bring back tradition, but getting rid of a fundamental part of Hogwarts that has been around for hundreds of years?" Daphne snorted. "What a hypocrite."

"Well, apparently the squad is for upstanding students of proper conduct who understand the important historical history of Hogwarts."

"So purebloods?"

"More than just that," Cedric said with a grimace. "I saw the list. It's not like you and Susan are included. It's almost all Slytherins, and a few Ravenclaws. It's safe to say that tensions will rise. The squad will have power to take points and give detention with the agreement of a teacher. Luckily, Snape didn't look pleased at the meeting according to McGonagall, so he probably won't rubber stamp detentions. None of the teachers like her, but the ministry has consolidated power and given her free reign. It's going to get worse before it gets better."

"It would be one thing if she was a competent teacher, but I'm a day away from turning all her clothes a more acceptable color if we read that stupid book again. For Merlin's sake, she is even using the same book for every year. How is the Department of Magical Education letting her get away with this?"

"Wouldn't you be the better answer to that?" Cedric said with a small smile.

"Radio silence from my parents, which either a good thing or a bad thing," Daphne said with a small frown. "I wouldn't put it past Umbridge to start screening mail, so either they have no good news, or my dad is putting together a real coalition and doesn't want the ministry to get wind of it. I suspect Madam Marchbanks will be a big part of educational reform, but it would be more than that."

"I hope my dad would help as well," Cedric mentioned, and Daphne nodded.

"Speaking of dads, I expect mine will want to meet you over Christmas break." Cedric paled a little at that. "Oh don't worry, he doesn't bite." Cedric gave a nervous gulp. "Seriously." The head boy nodded cautiously. "My mom is the one to worry about."

"Stop it," Cedric muttered in response. "Do you want me to lose it at breakfast?"

"That's ok." Daphne leaned over and gave him a lingering kiss than sent a shiver down his spine. "I'm worth it right?" Cedric nodded dumbly. "See you later." She picked up her bookbag and walked off, leaving Cedric dumbfounded. Down the table Jason saw the look on his friend's face and started laughing. Cedric felt a blush cover his face and put his head down, causing Jason to laugh even harder.

Later that night the Hufflepuffs were congregated looking at a small pile of galleons in front of them. Susan picked one up and cast a short spell. Instantly a message appeared on the rest of the galleons. Hannah picked another up and cast her own spell. Instantly the message changed.

"Luna and Hermione came up with these?" Cedric marveled. "These are really great."

"Yes they are," Hubert Fleet agreed. Cedric had told the entire quidditch team about the club, and all seven had decided to join. It was a nice show of unity from the team, who were shaping up nicely with their first match coming in December. The season would start with Gryffindor Slytherin as usual, and while tension hadn't ratcheted up yet, it was sure too.

"So have we found a good place to meet?" Hannah asked.

"Not perfect, but we have a system," Cedric explained. "Jason?"

"I can cast a warning charm on the stairwell and a little ward on the hallway to slow someone down," Jason explained. "Since we are on the 6th floor, it should give us enough time to scatter. Hopefully we don't have to, but since you guys seem to think secrecy is really important, it should work out for now."

"We'll continue to work on finding a safer place, but for now unfortunately it's all we have."

"Ok, I'll send out the message." Susan tapped the galleon. They were meeting for the first time in an hour. There were some nerves around the group, but there was resolve as well. This was something they all felt strongly about, and even though there were obvious risks with Umbridge on the warpath, it was time to act. It was time to show some Gryffindor courage.

"Time to go," Cedric whispered to the group. They rose in groups of two and three and left with a few minutes in between groups, consisting of different years with some randomness. Most of the upper years knew about the group, and the ones who were not interested promised to keep it fairly confidential. Still, if they were to run into someone in the hallway, dividing the groups and keeping it random should lower the likelihood of being found out. Daphne had suggested it, showing that Slytherin cunning again. There was a little debate, but no one could refute that it was a good idea.

Susan went to the room with a 4th year she had spent time with and Heidi, who joked the entire way. They briefly went past a Ravenclaw student Susan vaguely recognized on the 4th floor landing, but there were no words exchanged as his head was in a book. Breathing a small sigh of relief, she opened the door, ushering her two companions into the room. It took effort to avoid a furtive glance. It had been another suggestion from Daphne. Sneaking around would encourage suspicion. Walk with purpose like you are doing exactly what you should be doing and people wouldn't look any further.

The few Ravenclaws, primarily 4th and 5th years had already showed up. The quidditch team had been invited, but they had a practice that day. It was impossible to get everyone to every meeting, but the day worked for all the Hufflepuffs. Since they came up with the group and executed on the majority of the planning, Hannah had made the point that it was at their prerogative that the meeting would happen. Therefore the meeting was scheduled for that night. The message galleons had been distributed, so if you did not attend the meeting and were not on the Ravenclaw quidditch team, it would be assumed that the meeting was not of interest to you.

There would no hard feelings, but it had been circulated that if you were caught spilling the secret and Umbridge found out, there would be consequences. Specifically the Weasley twins had promised that the tattletale would become the singular focus of their worst pranks, and even worse, become the inadvertent test subject for their new products. Many people had been cowed by Umbridge, but Fred and George were still going strong. They had taken the new restriction as a challenge. Not even the bravest Gryffindor or sneakiest Slytherin wanted the Weasley twins' attentions focused on them.

The aforementioned Weasleys were already there, along with the rest of the Gryffindor quidditch team. Hermione had apparently spread the word, as almost every Gryffindor years 4-7 were there. There were even a few third years. She was clutching what looked like a large compendium of notes, which made Susan a little nervous. Lavender had told her she set Hermione to the task, and the charmed galleons must have taken hours of research alone. Apparently her Gryffindor yearmate was back in over-achiever mode.

After the last Hufflepuff group had arrived, Susan gave it another minute before clearing her throat and stepped to the front of the group. As she had planned, Cedric and after a lot of badgering, Neville stood with her.

"Thank you all for coming today. We may be here for slightly different reasons, but we all know that this year, the ministry has decided that our defense education doesn't matter. Umbridge isn't teaching us anything, and Wizarding Britain does not have a guarantee of safety. We are here to learn the skills, spells, and tactics that we should be learning this year, hopefully do well on our tests and be able to protect ourselves. Does anyone disagree with the goals?" There was a silence of agreement.

"We have a variety of different years, so we will try and work at a 4th and 5th year level. If we are able to have this club for the rest of the year, eventually the spells and tactics will scale up appropriately. Hopefully everyone will be able to keep up, and there is no reason that strategy and skills should depend on your year," Cedric said. "So we hope that everyone can keep up with everything."

"There are two things we need to do today," Susan started. "We'd like to decide on a name for our little club to start."

"How about Dumbledore's army?" One of the Weasley twins suggested. "The ministry thinks Dumbledore is creating an army after all. Let's throw it in their faces." A few people laughed and there were nods around the room.

"Are you an idiot?" Daphne snapped. "What if Umbridge learns about this, and that is the name? Dumbledore will be kicked out of school immediately. I'm not his biggest fan, but if he goes, it is almost guaranteed we will have Headmistress Umbridge. No matter what issues you might have with Dumbledore, Umbridge in charge would be 500% worse." The Weasley twin wilted under her stare.

"We are all here to learn how to defend ourselves among other things. How about the self-defense club?" Michael Corner suggested.

"That's good," Cedric said, and there were a few nods around the room.

"What if Umbridge shuts down clubs?" Dean asked. "Wouldn't this definitely be against one of those stupid education decrees?"

"Then how about the self-defense society?" Neville suggested. "I don't know of any other societies in Hogwarts. Also, if Umbridge makes a decree saying societies are banned, we will know someone told her." This got the most positive reaction.

"All for?" Susan called. Almost every hand was raised. "Ok, we will be the self-defense society, or SDS for short." There were murmurs of ascent and satisfaction.

"You said we needed to do two things today," a student clad in the blue of Ravenclaw said. "What is the other thing?"

'That's a good question Maisy," Cedric said. Susan had to tip her cap to the Head Boy, knowing the name. It was an impressive show of soft skills, and Susan resolved to learn the names of everyone in the club as soon as possible. "It would probably be best if we elected a leader?"

"Why?" That came from a 6th year Ravenclaw. Marietta, Susan remembered. "We can't all do this together?"

"Togetherness is important, but have you heard the phrase too many captains will steer the ship up a mountain?" Cedric replied. He had not known the phrase, and when the Hufflepuff leaders discussed the plan for the first meeting, this part had proved a stumbling block. Daphne came over and provided the phrase. She was certainly loyal and trustworthy and without a doubt belonged in her new house. But every now and then she came up with an idea that reminded Susan that a snake can't truly change all its stripes.

"What does that mean?" A young-looking Gryffindor asked.

"It means that if we have a bunch of people deciding what to do, this will be chaos and there will be no organization," Cedric explained. "If there are disagreements, having one person to settle them will be useful. Without a leader we are vulnerable to infighting ruining this endeavor."

"What about you?" Colin Creevey said. "You were a champion and are really good at defense?"

"I'm flattered, but I am unfortunately too busy," Cedric admitted. "Our leader should be able to go to almost all the meetings, and I don't know I can do that. Obviously everyone won't be able to go to every meeting, but the leader should be able to go to most, and in the rare event they can't they can share with their housemates the plan for the day. So not me."

"How about our resident defender of Hogwarts?" Padma Patil said. "Neville obviously knows his stuff."

"I second that," Dean said. Susan saw a smirk on the dark-skinned wizards face, and Neville giving his friend a death glare in response.

"Again, I'm flattered, but I can't really teach you most of the stuff I know, as it is rooted in magical martial arts." Susan had been training with Neville enough to know that was a bald-faced lie. Apparently the strategy to force him into command had not been entirely successful. "I have no problem helping out a leader, but I'm not the right choice."

There was silence at Neville's refusal, and Susan held back a curse. Cedric and Neville were the two logical choices. They were dangerously close to going back to Marietta's idea of leading collectively. Susan didn't need a fancy analogy to know that would be a disaster. She wracked her brain as she looked around for the best remaining choice. Her eyes lit on Hermione's giant sheaf of notes. It wasn't the best choice, but she could be a figurehead, propped up by others.

"How about Hermione?" Susan put forward, keeping her true feelings from her voice. "She was best friends with the best defense student in the school and helped him train for the tournament. Besides, her excellent organizational skills would be a huge boon." Hermione's eyes went wide and she started to shake her head vigorously.

"It's a good idea," Neville chimed in before Hermione could say anything.

"I don't know nearly enough!" Hermione complained.

"You don't need to know everything," One of the Weasley twins said. "You need to lead, and have the drive to do this."

"You can lead us, and if you don't know something you can figure it out," the other twin said.

"I'm sure other people can help you come up with the specific ideas for each day," Parvati said. "But no one can question your work ethic and commitment. You would be a good leader.

"We tried to this last year, don't you remember?" Cedric gently reminded her. "You helped lead that group, and you know even more now. You had private lessons with Flitwick all last year. You can do this."

It took a few more minutes of badgering, but eventually they managed to convince Hermione that she should lead the group. Her first order of business was discussing a more permanent meeting location. Neville and Dean shared a glance. It would be frustrating to give up their private practice place, but it wasn't like the group could meet all that often. Even if they explained how the room worked to Hermione, they could work out a system of their own.

"We know a place," Dean offered. "I can show you tomorrow and explain how it works, and I'm pretty sure we won't be discovered."

"It is a good place," Neville agreed. Hermione once again had to be convinced but the group broke up, more prepared and more convinced than ever. The Hufflepuffs seemed content, the Ravenclaws curios, and the Gryffindors resolved. This would work.

Lavender only needed a glance to tell Hermione was nervous. This had been unexpected, and perhaps not the best result. In terms of competence and leadership abilities, Cedric and Neville would have been better choices. They both had qualities that would make them a very successful leader. Very different qualities, but advantages nonetheless.

Cedric had the respect of the entire student body. He was a good mix of many of the houses, brave, clever, ambitious, and certainly loyal. It was unlikely they would be betrayed purely due to the respect and admiration of the students. Not to mention his private lessons with Akira would mean he was well informed.

Neville was entirely different. People respected his abilities for sure, especially after the Battle of Hogsmeade, but there was a little fear too. He also had a bit of a killer instinct and savagery that could help members of the club. Lavender had seen flashes of it at times, and had been a bit worried that he was losing himself. When she wasn't worried, she was envious. That kind of mindset was needed to survive life and death fights.

But it mattered not, because Hermione was the leader. It was an easy decision for Lavender to tell herself she would help. Not in gather spells or preparing lessons, that was far from her strength. No, she would work to keep her roommate sane while also of this was going on. Hopefully it wouldn't be too challenging, but Hermione this year there was no guarantee. But if she helped, Lavender was sure it could work out.

Educational Decree #35: The High Inquisitor must approve all clubs, including existing ones.

"Ratted out after the first meeting?" Lavender whispered to her roommates. All four were in the club.

"I can't believe it," Fay Dunbar said. "We won't even have a chance to start up."

"Actually, it wasn't us," Parvati said. "Apparently Umbridge got into a row with a charms club that Flitwick holds where they work on esoteric magic. She is going to try and shut it down. We might be in a little more danger, but this isn't targeting us."

"Before this was just kind of naughty, a little against the rules," Fay restated. "Now we are actively breaking Umbridges rules."

"Look, I want to do well on my O. ," Hermione whispered fiercely. "More than that, I remember how I felt last year as I watched my best friend from life-altering situations. I remember seeing him do it for the first three years too. And every time, I felt a little helpless. I don't want to ever feel like that again. So, if you want to drop out, then you can. But I made a commitment, and I want to be brave."

"We aren't saying we are going to drop out," Sally-Anne Perks, the final 5th year Gryffindor girl said. "Just saying caution is necessary."

"It definitely is," Lavender agreed. She also looked at Hermione in a new light. Maybe she had what it took to lead after all. She didn't have the knowledge, and maybe not the casting ability, and that would hold her back. But she certainly had passion and that would undoubtedly help. Lavender leaned back in her seat, content and feeling more confident. Perhaps this would work out well, even better than expected.

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O—O-O-O—O-O-O—O-O-O-

Noah Greengrass had never been as tired as he was now. Usually Wizengamot meetings perked him up, interested by the various factions scheming and plotting. The intrigue and secrecy was his bread and butter, what he was good at and where he thrived. He might not be the most competent wizard with a wand, but he knew his business and knew the in's and out of proper procedure. He wouldn't scare too many people on a dueling strip, but he was a titan in the political field.

Or at least he had been when the neutral faction had been unified. But now they were splintered across the Wizengamot. Some had run to old allies, others to the older members. A few had run to Dumbledore, but for the most part the voting was splintered. Fudge was often able to get a majority because unless someone wanted to support Dumbledore, there was no figurehead to hide behind. And many of the families would never support Dumbledore.

"Tired, dear?" Abigail Greengrass asked, putting a cup of tea in front of him.

"Lots of long days," Noah said. "I feel like I am taking a big risk. You are ok with this?"

"If it was just for Daphne's schooling, no I wouldn't," Abigail confirmed. "One year of substandard defense teaching isn't all that important. It's happened before, after all. But it's far worse than that. If that idiot in the minster chair gets unfettered power, it won't be long before things spiral out of control. That isn't acceptable to me or our family."

"I know," Noah agreed. "But at the end of the day, I feel like we have the votes, but not a figurehead. Someone to draw the ire and criticism and stay strong. Without that, there is only so much we can do. The legislation packet depends on the first vote, and if that fails… the need for a strong coalition is more important than ever."

"Who has signed on?"

"Diggory, Abbott, and Avery so far," Noah said. "Longbottom is holding out to see if there is anything else. Brown is being stubborn. It's like they are hoping for a hero." Noah took a sip of his tea and rubbed his nose. Abigail noticed the tick and frowned. "I guess I am too."

"Heroes are notoriously unreliable," Abigail reminded him. "They tend to make poor bureaucrats. You don't need a man of action, you need someone of substance. You can be that man, if you want. Of course it is a risk, but I doubt it will be a death sentence. The world is changing, and if we want to remain in Britain and not be ashamed of our country, we don't have many options. This is the best one."

"Very well," Noah said. "I'll continue to recruit, but I need your help as well. You know I do not keep my ear to the rumor mill, and as long as Malfoy holds the minister's ear, they will grow their power. I swear, it is like their wealth is limitless! It is beyond frustrating the way that man plucks the strings of the Wizengamot."

"Oh, like you are so bullish yourself," Abigail said with a smile. "Subtely is the name of the game dear. I'll make some inquires. The Malfoys will be tarnish free, but I might be able to get some traction on Rowle and Travers. Or do you want to go after the minister himself?"

"God knows I don't want the job," Noah said with a scowl. "There is no good choice at the moment, not someone I'd trust."

"I know someone who I think would make an excellent minister, and you might even be able to get Malfoy in line. We'd need to speak to Daphne however, and make sure she remembered exactly how that thing in the summer played out."

"You are referring to Amelia Bones?" Noah was blindsided by that. It was actually a good suggestion. It would have been a better suggestion a year ago when she was the head of the DMLE, though she did not show interest in the position. "Would she leave France?"

"Rumor has it that Amelia Black will soon have a child," Abigail reminded him. "I assume that she and her husband would like the child to be raised in Britain so that he might someday take the Black seat. Would she return? I don't know, but there is no harm in asking. She would be both a competent politician, and the people's hero. The DMLE rank and file would support her."

"Let's save overthrowing the minister for another day," Noah said after a moment's contemplation. "Our plan is hard enough as is."

"One crisis at a time," Abigail agreed. "I do love you, you know."

"I know," Noah replied with a quizzical look on his face. "I love you too."

"Then we shall go to work. For the good of wizarding Britain, for the future," Abigail said, raising her glass.

"To Daphne," Noah echoed, and they downed their glasses. "To work indeed."

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O—O-O-O—O-O-O—O-O-O-

"Arget Lacero," Neville intoned, frustration clear in his voice. Once again his wand was silent, a stick in his hand. Neville fought down the desire to throw it across the room. He had been working at it for hours, and he was getting nowhere. Maybe he just wasn't ready yet.

His normal method of calming himself wasn't providing results. No matter what Beatles track ran through his mind, the spell wouldn't work. It was a continuing cycle, trying a song to calm down, failing, getting angry, using another song, on and on. In the end, the spell just wouldn't work, and his system he had used in the path was coming up short.

When his grandmother had given him one of the Longbottom family grimoires before the year, Neville had been ecstatic. It felt like she was finally saying he deserved the Longbottom name. When he learned she had officially named him as the heir to the Longbottom seat, Neville had felt like he was flying.

The fight with the beastmaster had been a wake-up call to him. He could throw bone-breakers around until he was blue in the face, and any competent wizard could counter them in a host of ways. He was training physically and becoming a more competent magical martials artists. But it would not do to ignore the wizard and wanded magic.

Family grimoires were closely guarded secrets, so Neville had stowed the grimoire deep in his trunk, with a host of dangerous protections on it. If someone without a lot of Longbottom blood tried to touch it, it was likely they would be grievously wounded. Neville felt it was more than appropriate. Especially since if someone tried to open the book without him present, they would likely lose their magic and possibly die.

There were two key reasons the grimoires were so important. Firstly, there were family specific spells. Spells that had been developed to be used specifically by those of his family. In the hands of the wrong person, the spell would fail to work, if you were lucky. All types of family magic had negative consequences for those not of the bloodline. However, the book Neville had gotten had not included family magic. That would likely never leave Longbottom manor.

But this book was a compendium of the spells created by Longbottoms over the year. More than a few of his ancestors had added to the book. There were complex enchantments, amazing shields, and downright dangerous spells. Most of them were beyond him, as he didn't even begin to understand the theory or did not have the magical core required at his age. But he had found ones that he thought he could work with.

Learning these types of spells were critical to battle with other wizards. Neville read the effects and was surprised. The effects were apparently not all that different than an organ liquifying curse. But then he realized the importance of learning this. Someone familiar with the dark arts would recognize the incantation, and really advanced wizards might even recognize the wand movement of an organ liquifying curse. They could prepare or counter easily.

But they would not know the incantation or wand movement of his family's spell. It also seemed to suggest that the first time he successfully cast it, it would look unlike any spell he had ever cast before. The woman who had created the spell, a certain Lilith Longbottom, seemed to have a sense of humor, as she did not describe what the spell would look like. Instead there was just a small warning to keep a strong hold of the wand. But it didn't matter as he still could not cast it.

Neville took a deep breath and refocused. He would learn this, and would slowly work his way through the book. He might not live up to the legacy of his father and mother, not yet, but he would slowly gain ground on the Master auror that was Frank Longbottom who mastered most of this book by the time he was 18. He would gain the respect needed to be a leader. It was his right by blood. And Neville swore to himself he would do what was needed to learn the spells.