disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, just Arabella and her story. Sorry for this delay. I've been working on this chapter for a while and was really trying to make it perfect. Hopefully it came out right and you all like it!

Dumbledore's Army

After dinner that night, Arabella returned back to the common room in a sourly mood. Angelina had just told her that they weren't going to have Quidditch practice for a while since Umbridge had to consider giving them permission to reform the team. It was complete rubbish. She gave permission to the Slytherins straight away, but not for the Gryffindors? Arabella was disgusted and could not concentrate on her homework with all the noise around her. Fred and George were demonstrating their Skiving Snackbox to a cheer crowd. They crowd kept cheering as the twins kept retching for them and Hermione kept making loud, disapproving sniffs. It was distracting and infuriating.

"Just go and stop them!" Arabella shouted at her after she re-read the same paragraph again.

"I can't, they're not technically doing anything wrong," Hermione said through clenched teeth. "They're quite within their rights to eat the foul things themselves, and I can't find a rule that says the other idiots aren't entitled to buy them, not unless they're proven to be dangerous in some way, and it doesn't look as though they are…"

The four of them watched as George projectile-vomit into the bucket, gulp down the rest of the chew, and straightened up, beaming with his arms wide to applause. George, Fred and Lee began colleting gold from the eager crowd.

"You know," began Harry, putting his quill down, "I don't get why Fred and George got three O.W.L.s each. They really know their stuff…"

"Oh, they only know flashy stuff that's no real use to anyone," Hermione said stiffly.

"No real use?" said Ron. "Hermione, they've got about twenty-six Galleons already…"

"Not everyone is book smart, Hermione," said Arabella. "Some people have talents that are beyond textbooks and classrooms, and there's nothing wrong with that."

Hermione pursed her lips and didn't say anything else regarding the matter. It was a long time until the crowd surrounding the Weasley twins and Lee began to scatter. The three of them stayed up to count their earnings, sometimes loudly, before heading up to their dormitory. It was well past midnight when Arabella, Hermione, Harry and Ron finally had the common room to themselves again. Arabella gave up on her homework for the night and stuffed her books away. Just as she stretched out in her armchair, Ron gave a muffled grunt and said, "Sirius!"

Arabella's spine straightened and she stared at the fire. Sirius's head was sitting in the fire again. Arabella's shoulders slumped down in relief and smiled.

"Hi," said Sirius, grinning.

"Hi," the four of them said together and kneeled by the fire.

"How're things?" asked Sirius.

"Not that good," said Harry. "The Ministry's forced through another decree, which means we're not allowed to have Quidditch teams –"

" – or secret Defense Against the Dark Arts groups?" Sirius said slyly.

There was a short pause. Arabella and Hermione glanced at each other before Arabella said, cautiously, "How do you know about that?"

"You want to choose your meeting places more carefully," said Sirius, his smile widening. "The Hog's Head, I ask you…"

"Well, it was better than the Three Broomsticks," said Hermione defensively. "That's always packed with people –"

" – which means you'd have been harder to overhear," said Sirius. "You've got a lot to learn, Hermione."

"Who overheard us?" demanded Harry.

"Mundungus, of course," said Sirius, laughing. "He was the witch under the veil."

"That was Mundungus?" said Harry. "What was he doing in the Hog's Head?"

"What do you think he was doing? Keeping an eye on you, of course."

"I'm still being followed?"

"Yeah, you are," said Sirius, "and just as well, isn't it, if the first thing you're going to do on your weekend off is organize an illegal defense group." Instead of looking angry or worried, he was staring at Arabella and Harry with pride. "Anyway, Ron, I've sworn to pass a message from your mother."

"Oh, yeah?" said Ron, sounding edgy.

"She says on no account whatsoever are you to take part in an illegal secret Defense Against the Dark Arts group. She says you'll be expelled for sure and your future will be ruined. She says there will be plenty of time to learn how to defend yourself later and that you are too young to be worrying about that right now. She also advises Arabella, Harry and Hermione not to proceed with the group, though she accepts that she has no authority over either of them and simply begs them to remember that she had their best interest at heart." He then turned towards Arabella and said, "I always have a message from Andromeda."

Arabella winced and said, "What is it?"

"She absolutely forbids you from participating in this – and this is her words – 'ridiculous teenage rebellion club.' She knows that she is not your mother and has said – again her words – 'I will come up there and curse her out myself if she steps out of line.'"

Arabella blinked at him and said, slowly, "What about Remus? Does he have anything to say about this?"

"He said he forbids you from taking part as well, but Andromeda was in the same room as him, so I wouldn't take his words to heart at all. I wouldn't be surprised if he actually supports you in this endeavor."

"So, you want us to say we're not going to take part in the defense group?" muttered Ron.

"Me?" said Sirius, looking surprised. "Certainly not! I think this is an excellent idea!"

"You do?" said Harry.

"Of course, I do! D'you think your father and I would've lain down and taken orders from an old hag like Umbridge? James would have been furious, and Kassandra would have already hexed that woman, consequences be damned."

"But – last term all you did was tell me to be careful and not take risks –"

"Last year all the evidence was that someone inside Hogwarts was trying to kill you, Harry! This year we know that there's someone outside Hogwarts who'd like to kill us all, so I think learning to defend yourselves properly is a very good idea!"

"And if we get expelled?" said Hermione.

"Hermione, this whole thing was your idea!" said Harry.

"I know it was… I just wondered what Sirius thought," said Hermione, shrugging.

"Well, better expelled and able to defend yourself," said Sirius, "than sitting safely in school without a clue."

"Hear, hear," Harry and Ron said enthusiastically.

"So, how are you organizing this group? Where are you meeting?"

"Well, that's a bit of a problem now," said Harry. "Dunno where we're going to be able to go…"

"How about the Shrieking Shack?" suggested Ron.

"That doesn't sound like a good idea," Arabella said cautiously. "There are, what, thirty of us? Nobody beside me is an Animagus and there's no way all of us are going to fit under the Invisibility Cloak. Also, we're all probably not going to be able to fit in that run-down Shack and not draw attention to ourselves. Don't you think someone in the village will be able to tell that there are spells coming out of a supposedly abandoned place?"

"Fair point," said Sirius, disappointed. "Well, I'm sure you'll come up with somewhere… There used to be a pretty roomy secret passageway behind that big mirror on the fourth floor, you might have enough space to practice –"

"Fred and George told me it was blocked," said Harry, shaking his head. "Caved in or something."

"Ok… well, I'll have to think and get back to –"

Sirius broke off. His face became rigid and he turned sideways, alarmed. He seemed to be looking at the solid brick wall surrounding the fire.

"Sirius?" Arabella whispered, leaning in.

But Sirius had vanished and Arabella leaned in closer, unsure and fearful of what was going on. Arabella gasped and pushed herself away from the fire. A short, stubby hand appeared amongst the flames. It was groping at the fire, trying to catch something, with its old-fashioned rings glimmering from the light.

The four of the ran for it. Arabella slammed the girls' dormitory door shut and leaned against it. She was breathing heavily while Hermione hunched over, trying to catch her breath. After a couple seconds, Hermione looked up, her chest heaving and cracking the door open.

"What do you see?" whispered Arabella, leaning in towards the crack.

"She's still there," said Hermione, her voice barely above a whisper. "She's still trying to grab him."

Arabella barely slept at all that night. Her heart kept racing as she laid in her bed for hours, waiting for someone to burst though the doors and throw her out of Hogwarts. She eventually fell asleep, exhausted, but was shaken awake a few short hours later. As she went through her day, she knew she wasn't all there. She barely participated in class and barely took anything in. During Charms, she tried to pay attention to the conversation, but could barely say anything. She agreed with Hermione that Umbridge attacked Hedwig and has been reading Harry's mail, but she was worried that Umbridge and the Ministry were going to burst through the doors, seize Arabella by the neck and through her out the Hogwarts's doors.

Over break they were allowed to remain inside due to the downpour outside. They headed down to the first floor where they found seats in a noisy overcrowded classroom with Peeves floating overhead near the chandelier. They had barely sat down when Angelina came through the crowd, shoving some students aside.

"I've got permission!" she practically shouted. "To re-form the Quidditch team!"

Arabella, though very tired, still had the good grace to say, "That's fantastic!"

"Yeah," said Angelina, beaming. "I went to McGonagall and I think she might have appealed to Dumbledore – anyway, Umbridge had to give in. Ha! So, I want you down at the pitch at seven o'clock tonight, all right, because we've got to make up time, you realize we're only three weeks away from our first match?"

She walked away from them and vanished from sight. Arabella's smile immediately disappeared. She was hoping to go to bed straight after dinner tonight, but that was clearly not possible. She wasn't going to be any help during practice and dreaded having Angelina yell at her.

"Hope this clears up," Ron murmured, looking out the window. "What's up with you, Hermione?"

Hermione was gazing out the window as well, but her eyes were unfocused and there was a frown on her face.

"Just thinking…"

"Snuffles?" asked Arabella.

"No… well, not exactly… More wondering… I suppose we're doing the right thing… I think… aren't we?"

Arabella, Harry and Ron looked at each other.

"Well, that clears that up," said Ron. "It would've been really annoying if you hadn't explained yourself properly."

"I was just wondering whether we're doing the right thing, starting this Defense Against the Dark Arts group."

"What!" Harry and Ron said together.

"This was your idea, Hermione!" said Arabella angrily.

"I know," said Hermione, twisting her fingers. "But after talking to Snuffles…"

"But he's all for it!" said Harry.

"Yes," said Hermione, staring out the window. "Yes, that's what made me think maybe it wasn't a good idea after all…"

"So, let me see if I got this right," Arabella said slowly. "Snuffles agrees with us – he agrees with you – and you think we shouldn't do it anymore? Why?"

"Do you honestly trust his judgement?"

"Yes!" Arabella and Harry practically shouted.

"He's always given us great advice!" said Harry.

"You don't think he has become…" Hermione was choosing her words very carefully, "sort of… reckless… since he's been cooped up in Grimmauld Place? You don't think he's kind of… living through us?"

"'Living through us'?" Arabella repeated.

"I mean… well, I think he'd love to be forming secret defense societies right under the nose of someone from the Ministry… I think he's really frustrated at how little he can do where he is… so I think he's keen to kind of… egg us on."

"Or maybe he actually wants us to learn how to defend ourselves," Arabella said quickly.

Hermione bit her lip and did not answer. The bell rang and they set out for Transfiguration.

The weather did not improve as the day went on, something that didn't give Arabella much hope. She was still exhausted and didn't like the idea of practicing in the rain at all. When she ran down towards the Quidditch pitch, she was soaked in minutes with her feet sliding on the grass. The sky was a deep grey and the locker room was a welcome change, even if it was temporary. Arabella was the last one in the locker room and had to change rapidly before Angelina emerged from the Captain's office.

"All right, everyone, listen up," called Angelina as Arabella pulled her shirt over her head. "I know it's not ideal weather, but there's a good chance we'll be playing Slytherin in condition like this so it's a good idea to work out how we're going to cope with them. Harry, didn't you do something to your glasses to stop the rain fogging them up when we playing Hufflepuff in that storm?"

"Hermione did it," said Harry. He pulled out his wand, tapped his glasses and said, "Impervius!"

"I think we all ought to try that," said Angelina. "If we could just keep the rain off our face it would really help visibility – all together, come on – Impervius! Okay. Let's go."

They all shouldered their brooms and followed Angelina out of the changing rooms. Even with the Impervius Charm, their visibility was still very poor. Arabella's shoe and the bottom of her trousers were already covered in mud and light was fading fast.

"All right, on my whistle," shouted Angelina.

Arabella kicked off from the ground, mud spluttering everywhere, and shot upward. She had no idea how she was going to see the Quaffle in this weather.

"Ow!" shouted Arabella.

Apparently, she didn't need to see the Quaffle. It was going to hit her regardless. She looked around, trying to see if she could find it. A Buldger almost unseated her and she could not see neither Katie nor Angelina. She didn't have a clue as to what was going on, and by the sound of her teammates, they felt the same way. The wind was picking up and it was getting harder to steady their brooms.

Angelina kept them at it for nearly an hour, but conceded defeat once she realized that neither her, Katie nor Arabella ever had the Quaffle the whole time. She led them back into the changing rooms, insisting that the practice had not been a waste of time. Everyone looked annoyed.

Arabella slowly began changing out of her drenched uniform, drying her hair and wiping her face.

"OUCH!"

Arabella turned toward Harry as everyone else said, "What's up?"

Harry emerged from behind his towel and said, "Nothing, I – poked myself in the eye, that's all…"

Arabella, Harry and Ron hung back as the rest of the team filed back outside. They sat close to each other and made sure there was nobody else around them.

"What happened?" said Ron. "Was it your scar?"

Harry nodded.

Ron strode across the window, stared out the window and said, "But… he – he can't be near us now, can he?"

"No," muttered Harry. "He's probably miles away. It hurt because… he's… angry."

"What do you mean 'angry'?" asked Arabella. "Did you see him – I don't know – curse someone or –"

"No, no," said Harry, shaking his head, staring at his feet. "No, he wants something done, but… it's not happening fast enough."

"But… how do you know?" said Ron, sitting down on the bench beside Harry. "Is this what it was about last time? When your scar hurt in Umbridge's office? You-Know-Who was angry?"

Harry shook his head.

"What is it, then?"

Harry didn't say anything immediately. He considered his words for a moment before saying, "Last time, it was because he was pleased. Really please. He thought… something good was going to happen. And the night before we came back to Hogwarts… He was furious."

Ron was gaping at him. "You could take over from Trelawney, mate."

"I'm not making prophecies."

"You're not," said Arabella, slightly shaken. "You're reading Voldemort's mind…"

"No," said Harry, shaking his head. "It's more like… his mood, I suppose. I'm just getting flashes of what mood he's in… Dumbledore said something like this was happening last year… He said that when Voldemort was near me, or when he was feeling hatred, I could tell. Well, now I'm feeling it when he's pleased too…"

There was a pause. Arabella quietly listened to the rain lashing against the building. Nothing Harry said made her feel better at all.

"You've got to tell someone," said Ron.

"I told Sirius last time."

"Well, tell him about this time!"

"Can't, can I? Umbridge is watching the owls and the fires, remember?"

"Tell Dumbledore," said Arabella.

"He already knows," Harry said shortly. "There's no point telling him again."

"Dumbledore would want to know," insisted Arabella.

Harry shrugged. "C'mon… we've still got Silencing Charms to practice."

They hurried back through the dark grounds, sliding and stumbling up the muddy lawns, not talking. They hurried up the stone steps and walked quietly to the common room. Arabella did not head upstairs immediately. She was no longer tired, instead she was completely wide awake with what Harry just told them. She sat in the common room for a couple minutes with Harry and Ron before realizing that she didn't even open her Potions book. She packed up her things and left with a small 'goodnight.'

After taking a long shower, Arabella stared at her scars for a moment on the bench in the corner. There was always a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach that she was somehow still connected to Bellatrix. They were family by blood, but she thought that maybe they were somehow connected through her scars. Harry could feel Voldemort's mood. He could sometimes vision Voldemort in his dreams. Could this be the same case? Arabella always had strange dreams, ever since she was little, but would that be the same case for Bellatrix and her mood? Arabella shook her head and ran her fingers through her hair. No, it couldn't be.

If Bellatrix was enraged, Arabella would know. Bellatrix was not a calm woman. She was erratic and eccentric. If she was angry, if she was livid and cursing Arabella in her cold Azkaban cell, Arabella would certainly know. Arabella would feel it and… some part of her felt as though Bellatrix would feel their connection as well. And Bellatrix… she would certainly want Arabella to make sure she would never forget her and forget everything she had done to her.

Remus sent her some medicine the next morning with a small note to use it carefully. She knew he didn't mean the medicine, especially when he underlined the word CAREFULLY three times. She tucked the note in her pocket just as Harry told them that he found a place for them to practice defensive spells. Arabella, Ron and Hermione were shocked and relieved as Harry told them about the Room of Requirements, a room that a person can only enter when they have real need of it. Hermione became less pleased when she heard that it was Dobby who told Harry about the room, an elf who's plans are not always the safest. It took them a while to convince her that it was safe, especially since Dumbledore once mentioned it to Harry in passing.

Quidditch practice was canceled that night and they spend most of their day seeking out people who signed their names on the list. As eight o'clock got closer, Arabella felt a rush of excitement. Those in the common room were ecstatic and kept giving Harry significant looks.

At half-past seven, Arabella, Harry, Ron and Hermione left the common room. Arabella was clutching the Marauder's Map in her hands. Fifth years were allowed to be out in the corridors until nine o'clock, but they were still looking around nervously as they made their way to the seventh floor and stopped.

Arabella unfolded the piece of parchment, tapped her wand, and said, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

A map of Hogwarts appeared upon the blank surface. Arabella scanned it closely, watching the tiny black moving dots.

"Filch is on the second floor," said Arabella, "and Mrs. Norris on the fourth."

"And Umbridge?" Hermione asked anxiously.

"In her office," said Arabella. "Come on, we've got to go before they start moving about."

They hurried along the corridor to the place where Dobby had described to Harry last nigh. A stretch o blank wall opposite an enormous tapestry depicting Barnabas the Barmy's foolish attempt to train trolls for the ballet. They walked back the wall three times, concentrating on what they needed the most. Arabella walked up and down the stretch of the wall, concentrating as hard as she could. We need the Room of Requirements… We need to practice defensive spells… Help us, please…

"Harry," Hermione said sharply.

Arabella wheeled around. A highly polished down appeared in the wall. Ron was looking at it wearily as Harry reached out, seized the brass handle, and pulled the door open. The room was spacious with lit torches. The walls were lined with wooden bookcases and there were silk cushions on the floor instead of chairs. A set of shelves at the far end of the room carried a range of instruments like Sneakoscopes, Secrecy Sensors, Foe-Glass and others Arabella wanted to get her hands on.

"These will be good when we're practicing Stunning," Ron said enthusiastically, kicking a cushion.

"And look at these books!" said Hermione excitedly. "A Compendium of Common Curses and Their Counter-Actions… The Dark Arts Outsmarted… Self-Defensive Spellwork… wow… This is wonder, there's everything we need here!"

Without another word, she slid Jinxes for the Jinxed from the shelf and sank into the nearest cushion.

Arabella made her way over to the instruments and took out of wand. She quickly fixed the Foe-Glass as students began making their way into the Room of Requirements. She inspected the Secrecy Sensor, making sure it was intact when a small figure came beside her.

"Hiya, Arabella," said Alfred Clemens, smiling up at her.

"Oh, hi, Alfred," said Arabella, returning the smile. "Find the place all right?"

"Oh definitely," he said, rocking back and forth on his heels. "Dennis, Colin and I couldn't stop talking about it the whole day. What's that in your hand?"

"Oh, um, this is a Secrecy Sensor. It's a Dark Detector. It vibrates when it detects concealment and lies. It's useful at times, but I doubt it works all that much at Hogwarts with students lying every now and again."

"And that?"

"That's – er – a Foe-Glass. It looks like a mirror, but it's supposed to show the possessors enemy. Here, look at it closely."

Alfred leaned into the mirror to inspect it. Shadowy figures were moving inside of it, but none recognizable nor distinctive.

"If your enemy is far away, they will appear as shadows," explained Arabella, "but as your enemy comes closer, their image becomes clearer."

"There's a lot of enemies in here," said Alfred, sounding extremely worried. "I didn't know I had that many."

"I'm sure that's not just you," Arabella reassured. "I'm sure the glass is taking into account of everyone in this room."

"What happens if you don't have any enemies?"

"Then I guess no one would appear," said Arabella, shrugging. "This would simple be a glass to you."

"And if someone has a lot of enemies?" probed Alfred. "Like a lot, a lot. Massive amounts."

"Er – I guess they would all show up," said Arabella, thinking that her previous explanation was enough, "or the one's that's just closest to you at the moment. You, um, have a lot of questions, don't you?"

Alfred gave her a smile and nodded his head. "I thought Moody was really interesting last year. He showed us cool things like this last year and I thought it was really brilliant."

"But that wasn't Moody," Arabella pointed out.

Alfred shrugged. "Still learned more from him than Professor Umbridge."

Arabella could not argue with that. As Alfred began gazing at the other objects, she was suddenly stuck with a pang of guilt. She should not have yelled at him during their first day back. He's so small, barely reaching Arabella's shoulder, and he was terribly skinny. He should eat more, thought Arabella. He had wispy, thin blonde hair that flopped down on his forehead and dark eyes that stood out against his pale face. He was a kind little boy and he certainly did not deserve to be yelled at, certainly not by her.

She checked her watch quickly. "Well, questions are always welcomed here. Two minutes to eight, Alfred. We'd better find some seats."

Alfred gave her one last smile before sitting with the Creevey brothers while Arabella took a seat beside Hermione. When it was finally eight o'clock, Harry locked the door. It clicked loudly and everyone fell silent.

"Well," Harry said, slightly nervous. "This is the place we've found for practices, and you've – er – obviously found it okay –"

"It's fantastic!" said Cho with others muttering in agreement.

"It's bizarre," said Fred, frowning around at it. "We one hid from Filch in here, remember, George? But it was just a broom cupboard then…"

"Well," continued Harry, "I've been thinking about the sort of stuff we ought to do first and – er – What, Hermione?"

"I think we ought to elect a leader," said Hermione.

"I think it's pretty obvious who should be the leader," said George.

"Harry," Fred and George said at the same time.

"Yes, but I think we ought to vote on it properly," said Hermione. "It makes it formal and it gives him authority. So – everyone who thinks Harry ought to be our leader?"

Everyone put their hands up immediately.

"Er – right, thanks," said Harry. "And – what, Hermione?"

"I also think we ought to have a name. It would promote a feeling of tam 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?" suggest Fred.

"Doesn't really roll of the tongue, does it, Fred?" said Arabella.

"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 Defense Association?" said Cho. "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 wear, isn't it?"

There was a good deal of agreement and laughter at this.

"All in favour of the D.A.?" Hermione said bossily. "That's a majority – motion passed!"

She pinned the piece of paper with all their names on it on the wall and wrote DUMBLEDORE'S ARM across the top in large letters.

"Great," said Arabella, smiling. "Now what?"

"I was thinking," said Harry, "the first thing we should do is Expelliarmus, you know, the Disarming Charm. Arabella, if you could demonstrate with me –"

"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?"

"I've used it against him," said Harry quietly. "It saved my life and Arabella's life last June."

Smith opened his mouth stupidly as the room went very quiet. Arabella shifted in her seat uncomfortably.

"But if you think it's beneath you, you can leave," said Harry.

Smith did not more, neither did anybody else.

"All right, then," said Harry. "Arabella, if you could help me demonstrate."

Within minutes, Arabella and Harry faced each other in the middle of the room as everyone moved around on either side of them, trying to give them some room. Arabella gave Harry a coy smile and a little wave. This was certainly going to be fun.

"Only Expelliarmus today," Harry told her, stressing out his words.

Arabella snorted and rolled her eyes.

For a while neither one of them moved for a while. They watched each other carefully, looking for any slight movements with their wands at their side.

Harry then snapped his wand up and shouted, "Expelliarmus!"

"Protego!"

Harry's wand went flying out of his hand and soared into the air. A couple people gasped while Fred and George cheered.

"I thought I said only Expelliarmus today?" called Harry, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm sor-ry," said Arabella, slightly frantic. "It's – it's instinct, okay? Like I know it's you, but I'm still going to counterattack no matter what, Harry –"

"It's fine, don't worry about it," said Harry, laughing a little. "No, that was good… it was good, honestly. Protego bounces the spell right back at the caster. It's a good spell to know and perfect. But I want us to practice Expelliarmus today, all right? Protego will happen another day."

They both faced off again. Arabella watched him but wasn't concentration as much, feeling slightly silly for what she had done, before Harry once again raised his wand and said, fiercely, "Expelliarmus!"

Arabella's wand flew out of her hand and slid on the floor.

"Fantastic, Harry!" said Dean as others clapped around them.

"Yes, well, you all know what to do," said Harry, his face turning slightly red. "I reckon we should all divide into pairs and practice."

Everyone began scrambling and divided up into pairs. Harry gave Arabella an important task. He asked her to help out some of them as he walked around as well. She didn't know what to do. Teaching didn't seem as something that could come naturally to her as it did with Harry.

"On the count of three," Harry called to the room. "One, two, three –"

The room was suddenly full of shouts of "Expelliarmus!" Wands flew in all direction, some on the floor, others on the shelves. Missed spells bounced on the walls and books went flying into the air. Arabella retrieved Neville wand from the top of a bookshelf with a Summoning Charm before showing him how to point his wand with a snap rather than with unnecessary embellishments. It was a good thing that Harry started them off with the basics. It looked as though none of them had ever performed the Disarming Charm before.

The lesson went on incredibly. Neville managed to disarm Dean a handful amount of times and was getting more and more confident with the spell. Ginny was doing well against Michael Corner, who was either very bad or was unwilling to jinx her. Ernie Macmillan was flourishing his wand unnecessarily until Arabella stopped him and told him to do it with a short flick. The Creevey brothers were responsible for all the books leaping off the shelves around them as they were both very erratic, while Luna Lovegood caused Alfred's hair to stand up most of them time rather than send his wand spinning. Terry Boot's wand went whizzing past Arabella's face and hit Alicia hard on the nose, while Angelina sent Katie's wand to the back of Neville's head.

When Harry blew a whistle, everyone stopped shouting. Arabella looked down at her watch. It was already ten past nine and if they didn't back to their common rooms immediately, they were going to be punished by Filch for being out-of-bounds.

"Well, that was pretty good," said Harry, beaming breathlessly at everyone, "but we've overrun, we'd better leave it here. Same time, same place next week?"

"Sooner!" called Dean. Many people nodded in agreement.

"The Quidditch season's about to start," Angelina said quickly, "we need team practices too!"

"Let's say next Wednesday night, then," said Harry, "and we can decide on addition meetings then… Come on, we'd better get going…"

Arabella pulled out the Marauder's Map again and checked it carefully for signs of teachers on the seventh floor. She and Harry let them all leaves in threes and fours, watching the map to make sure everyone made it safely back to their dormitories. Neville, Hermione and Ron were the last group to leave. Arabella watched them carefully on the map until they reached the common room.

"So, how was it?" Harry asked when it was just the two of them.

"I thought it was fantastic," said Arabella, beaming at him, "Professor Potter."

They slipped out of the door and watched it melt back into stone behind them. They quickly made their way back to Gryffindor Tower. The common room was full, with various D.A. members talking animatedly with each other, their spirits high. Arabella gave Harry a quick kiss on the cheek as George and Dean pulled him over to their group. She could hear them poking fun at Harry for that kiss before shaking her head and closing the door to the girls' dormitory.

Hermione was the only one in their dormitory. Arabella did spot Parvati and Lavender downstairs with the others.

"I think I found a way for all of us to communicate," Hermione said at once, jumping to her feet.

"Do you mean… talking?" asked Arabella, placing her wand on her bedside table.

"You know what I mean," Hermione said dismissively. "It will look suspicious if everyone from different houses keeps talking to each other, telling each other when the next meeting is. I've been looking up this specific charm – Protean Charm. It links several objects together. We'll have one main object that connects with every object, that way it can somehow signal to them when the next meeting is."

"So, Harry's would be the main object – obviously – and he would somehow be able to signal to everyone when the next meeting is without being suspicious."

"Exactly!" said Hermione. "The only issue I keep running into is what object it will be. It can't be something very big that will stand out or something small that anybody can easily lose."

"Well," said Arabella, opening her trunk and taking out her pajamas, "I can't think of anything –"

Just as she took her pajamas out of her trunk, a small object fell out of her trunk and onto the floor. It was a small ringing noise and when Arabella and Hermione stared at it, it spun on the floor for a few seconds before falling flat. It was so simply and genius. It was right under their noses and so practical.

"We would need about thirty of them," Arabella said instantly. She dropped her pajamas and began searching her trunk. "How fast can you perform the spell?"

"I – I don't know," said Hermione. "I've never performed it before. I don't even know if I could do it."

Arabella chuckled. "Hermione, I have never seen a spell you could never perform. You're the best in our year."

"Except in Defense Against the Dark Arts," muttered Hermione.

"There's nothing wrong with being second."

"Third," corrected Hermione.

"What?" asked Arabella, half-turning her head.

"Third," repeated Hermione coldly. "Behind you and Harry."

"Oh," Arabella said lamely.

"Don't be surprised," Hermione said at once. "You apply yourself more towards Defense Against the Darks than most of our other subjects. It's not that surprising, considering you also lived with Remus for most of your life."

"Er – right," said Arabella, her face turning red as they continued to search her trunk. "So, um, the numbers around the edges are a signal of which goblin made the coin. Someone like Umbridge, someone as ignorant as her, they would not care or be able to tell if it were fake. We can use those numbers to change to the next meeting date."

"Objects are supposed to grow hot when that happens," said Hermione. "Everyone in the D.A. will be able to tell when the next meeting it simply by the heat. It will practically burn their pockets. They will have no proper excuse if they were to miss a meeting."

"Burn their pockets? Sounds a bit like the Dark Mark."

"Yes, well… I suppose it does," said Hermione, looking crestfallen at the thought.

"It's still a good idea," Arabella said quickly. "I mean, I would rather have this than my skin burn, you know."

Once Arabella had finally found her bag of Galleon coins, they began applying the Protean Charm on them. It was certainly a difficult charm, that was for sure. Their first couple of attempts did not end well. Hermione's first go ended up with the coin leaving a burned mark on the floor while Arabella's bounced up and down the room before she caught it and threw it into her trunk. Parvati and Lavender eventually came back into the room closer to midnight. They took one look at Hermione throwing Galleon coins against the wall and Arabella's blackened coin in her hand before deciding not to ask any questions and head straight to bed. It was two o'clock at night before they finally found some success.

They each seemed to have perfected one coin and hesitated before changing the numerals on one coin. Arabella held her breath as she watched the coin in her hand change and grow hot. Hermione signed and leaned against her bed, relieved.

"Two down, twenty-eight more to go," said Arabella, groaning.

The next two weeks were absolutely brilliant for Arabella. The secret of Dumbledore's Army warmed her up, especially as she sat though Umbridge's pointless class. Sometimes she would daydream about their previous meetings and those memories got her through Defense Against the Dark Arts. They were doing the very thing that the Ministry feared and they were doing it well. By the end of their fourth lesson, they all had improved vastly. Neville had successfully disarmed Hermione, Alfred mastered the Impediment Jinx after three lessons, and Parvati produced a spectacular Reductor Curse that reduced the table carrying all the Sneakoscopes to dust.

Even Arabella felt herself improve. She became quicker and more observant. She noticed the tiny little things people did – the way Harry's nice slightly twitched before casting a spell, Ron slightly rolling his wand in his hand, Hermione's nose flaring ever so lightly – and felt her senses heighten. She was more on point than before and, yet, more patient. Anybody that asked her a question about the instruments, she answered patiently and to the fullest of her extent. Anybody that needed help with their form, she helped, even if some were a little resistant, especially Smith. She somehow felt more in tune with magic than before, a better witch, a better student and a better leader.

The Galleon coins went over well with everyone. Most of impressed, some slightly disappointed that they weren't getting free money.

"You both can do a Protean Charm?" demanded Terry Boot.

Arabella shrugged as Hermione said, "Yes."

"But that's… that's N.E.W.T. standard, that is."

"Oh… well… yes, I suppose it is…"

"How come neither one of you aren't in Ravenclaw? With brains like yours?"

"Brains aren't determined by a single house, Terry," said Arabella, strained and rolling her eyes. "Take Dumbledore for example. Brilliant man but not a Ravenclaw. So, are we using the Galleons or not?"

Everyone moved forward to collect one from the basket. Harry looked sideways at Arabella and Hermione.

"You know what these remind me of?"

"Dark Mark tattoos?" Arabella offered blankly.

"I was a little bit worried about that," Hermione said quietly. "But at least we're not engraving anything on our member's skin…"

"Yeah," said Harry, grinning, "I prefer it this way. I suppose the only danger with these is that we might accidentally spend them."

"Fat chance," said Ron, examining his Galleon mournfully. "I haven't got any real Galleons to confuse it with."

As the first Quidditch match of the season drew closer, their D.A. meetings were put on hold, to the disappointment of many. Angelina insisted on daily practices as they were playing against Slytherin and the Quidditch Cup had not been held for so long. The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs had taken a lively interest, as well as the Heads of House of the competing teams. McGonagall, in an unprecedented turn of events, restrained herself from giving them homework a week before the match. Nobody could believe what they were hearing as she looked directly at Arabella, Harry and Ron as she spoke.

"I think you've got enough to be getting on with at the moment. I've become accustomed to seeing the Quidditch Cup in my study and I really don't want to have to hand it over to Professor Snape, so use the extra time to practice, won't you?"

Snape, to nobody's surprise, was not as pleasant. He booked the Quidditch pitch for the Slytherins as much as possible and turned a deaf ear whenever someone would report Slytherins trying to hex Gryffindor players in the corridors. He insisted that Katie attempted a Hair-Thickening Charm on herself rather than acknowledge that the Slytherin Keeper hit her from behind with the jinx. He constantly gave them homework and worked them until the very last second of each class.

Arabella felt good about Gryffindor's chances. They had never lost to Slytherins and, even though Ron was no Oliver Wood, he was working twice as hard as everyone else. He occasionally lost his confidence every now and then, but then he would make some spectacular moves that even impressed Angelina. The only thing that really worried Arabella was the Slytherin's tactics getting to Ron before the game. Arabella felt as though she had heard it all before thrown at her, but Ron never had. He did not let it roll off his back but turn green or drop whatever he was holding at the time.

November arrived with hard frosts every morning and icy drafts. The skies of the Great Hall turned a pale, pearly grey every morning and the mountains around Hogwarts became snow-capped. the temperature in the castle dropped so badly that students were wearing thick gloves during lessons.

The morning of the match dawned bright and cold. Arabella woke up feeling anxious and excited. Hermione was already awake, getting dressed, and Arabella jumped out of her bed. She quickly took a shower and changed into her uniform. Both of them headed down to the Great Hall, chatting animatedly about the upcoming match. The Hall was completely full when they arrived. Everyone was loud and more exuberant than usual. Gryffindor and Slytherins matches were usually good and exciting. It was going to be spectacular regardless. As they passed the Slytherin table, there was an upsurge of noise. Some were jeering at Arabella. She ignored them, trying to make her way to the Gryffindor table, when Hermione grabbed her arm.

"What?" whispered Arabella, looking back at her.

"Look," said Hermione.

She jabbed her thumb at a Slytherin. Arabella didn't see it immediately. Nearly everyone was wearing the same thing – green-and-silver scarves and hat, and silver badges that were in the shape of crowns.

"Like them, Black?" Parkinson said sneeringly with a terrible smile. "Made it for your friend there, want one? Hope Warrington doesn't knock him off his broom too bad. Weasley probably hasn't booked his bed in the hospital wing yet."

Parkinson pushed her pin with a terrible laugh forward for Arabella to read. Her stomach dropped as she made out the words etched on crown badges:

Weasley is Our King

Thank you so much for reading, hope you all liked it!

Over the last couple books, I hope I didn't make it seem as though Arabella was some sort of idiot when it came to school and her subjects. She's no Hermione Granger, but she does really well in certain classes over others - like Defense (mainly due to Remus and Mad-Eye) - and others take a little practice, but she gets there (Potions, Charms, Transfiguration, etc...). And in this case, having Arabella help Harry, didn't seem like much of a stretch. Especially with the both of them going through so much together. Hopefully that made sense, it did in my head, let me know if it doesn't and I'll try to clarify as much as possible what's going on in my head. Until next time, my friends!