A/N: I know it's been a very long time since I've updated, but I decided now it was about time I did.
I sort of lost my train of thought with this story so bear with me.
Thanks a lot to my BETA YamiRose DarkElementalWingedGoddess MANY THANKS!
Chapter 8: DA
Harry sighed and rolling up his parchment, he stuck into his robe pocket and stood up from the table, pulling his robe tighter around his body to warm himself. The Great Hall was cold this time of the morning, a fact that Harry had only just realised. Footsteps behind him made him spin on his heels and flick his wand out…right into the face of Tonks.
"Whoa, easy there Harry, you could poke someone's eye out with that thing" she joked.
Harry grinned and holstered his wand, "Hey Tonks, what are you doing here?"
Tonks sighed "Guard duties remember? It must be the most boring job ever."
"Well, isn't that better than being under attack and having to get the students to safety?"
Tonks nodded, "True…but that can't stop me from complaining though."
Harry chuckled as Tonks stepped closer to him, his breath caught as she came even closer, "I've missed you Harry" she said, so close that Harry could feel her breath.
"I've missed you too Tonks" Harry said turning his head to face her.
They both leant forward…but were startled apart by torches flaring and shutters opening, which showered the hall with daylight, as well as rising the temperature dramatically.
Tonks sighed; "I'd better get back to work," she said and threw an invisibility cloak over herself. Harry mentally cursed the castle for ruining the moment.
…………..
"You wake up really early now, you know that?" Ron asked him as he piled food onto his plate, "I mean you are always down here before us now. When did you become such a morning person?"
Harry smiled, "I don't know Ron, it just happened." Harry reached into this pocket, and pulled out a gold Gallon. He touched his wand to what looked like the serial number of the coin. It burned hot in his hand for a moment before cooling down again. Harry looked up just in time to smile at one of Ron's comments.
……….
"Harry!" Hermione hissed at him. Harry looked at her shocked; Hermione never initiated a conversation in the middle of class, especially not Transfiguration.
"What?" Harry whispered back.
"You're starting DA again tonight!"
"Yeah, what's wrong with that?" Harry asked confused.
"Nothing…it's just so sudden," Hermione replied cryptically.
"Some new people are coming…I hope," Harry whispered. Hermione looked at him quizzically and Harry just smiled.
………
"Hey, Cadwell" Harry said, walking up to a large 6th year Ravenclaw.
The large boy looked at Harry, "What?"
Harry glanced around, "Do you know about the DA?"
………
Harry looked down at his parchment, Isabella Higgins- Hufflepuff. He scanned the crowds of students making their way to classes and saw the pretty Hufflepuff with a group of girls making their way down to the greenhouses. Oh damn…this is going to be interesting. Harry walked up to the girls, who instantly stopped talking and looked at him, "Isabella? Could I please talk to you?"
The girls giggled as Isabella stepped forward, "Can we talk somewhere please?" Harry asked.
"Sure" she replied. They began to walk away…with the girls following them, until Harry looked over his shoulder and stared pointedly at them.
"So…what do you want handsome?" Isabella asked grinning, they were behind the greenhouses. Harry pushed his glasses further up his nose in, his trademark manoeuvre.
"Do you know anything about the DA?"
"A little…why?" the grin faded away from the pretty girls face as she squinted at him.
Harry rubbed his chin, "Are you interested in joining?"
"Yes," Isabella replied instantly, noises from behind them told them that the Green house was filling up.
Harry leant forward and pressed a Gallon into her hand and whispered into her ear, "Read the serial code on the coin for the date and time…Do you know anyone that goes?"
Isabella looked up from inspecting the coin, "Yeah."
Harry nodded "Good, follow them to our meeting place then." He walked a few paces away from her before turning around, "Oh and Isabella…don't go showing everyone the coin please, or where you are going, discretion is essential".
………
Harry looked out at the faces of his DA members, some old some new, all eager, all determined. For a second Harry considered telling everyone to go back to their dorms and forget all about DA, fighting…and Voldemort. But, Harry realised he couldn't fight Voldemort alone, and the Order of the Phoenix were not in any hurry to help him. The Slytherins have not turned up yet. I should have expected them not to. And yet, just as Harry thought that…the door opened and in stepped 8 Slytherins. Immediately almost the whole room bristled with tension, Harry stepped in between the Slytherins and the rest of the DA.
"They are here at my own request." Cries of outrage filled the room, "We can not afford to be divided now!" Harry said loudly bringing the room to silence.
"And why is that?" Zachariah Smith sneered, Harry turned towards him, but Ron got there first.
"Why do you think you idiot? It's because Voldemort is alive and pissed," Ron yelled, everyone starred at him, including Harry. He clamped a hand over his mouth when he realised what he said, Harry chuckled.
"Now…the room will separate you into groups, it is perfectly harmless," Harry told them all. Suddenly the students were standing in groups surrounded by a glass walls, three groups, one with all of the Slytherins in it except one and, one with the majority of the Gryffindors in it. Harry walked the one closest to him; he saw Hermione standing there, and most of the Ravenclaws.
He passed straight through the barrier, "Well…we certainly do have a collection of brains here, eh?"
The students just nodded, "Does anyone know the 'purpose' of this group?"
As usual Hermione answered first, "Because we are the smartest of the bunch?"
Harry nodded enthusiastically, "Right, you are the 'thinkers', the 'strategists', and in some cases the 'handlers' of that rowdy bunch of people over there" Harry directed, pointing at the large contingent of Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws.
"Now, could you put that bunch through some spells and such? I need to talk the Slytherins, so keep those people occupied for a while" Harry said as the wall dissipated from around them and the other group. Harry strode over the last group surrounded by walls, as he passed through the walls turned opaque. Harry stood in front of them silently, all of the Slytherins…except one, a few Ravenclaws…a Gryffindor and one…Hufflepuff? Harry's eyes lingered on Zachariah Smith looking awkward standing in between Slytherins.
"Ok Potter, out with it, what's this group for?" Malfoy asked him with arms folded across his chest.
Harry took off his glasses and cleaned them on his shirt, "Well Malfoy, what use do you think this group has? A group with all of the Slytherins…save one."
"Spies," Malfoy said, face an emotionless mask. Harry just shrugged.
"Thieves" Zach Smith said, again Harry made a dismissive gesture.
"Assassins," a particularly tall Slytherin said softly.
"You are all that…and more," Harry said. "You will be trained in stealth and subtlety, you are to be like ghosts…in and out…with no one knowing your there." By now, most of the Slytherins were sporting some sort of smile.
"So…you will be teaching us this then?" Malfoy asked sceptically.
"To a point…" Harry said, "But from there…we will be learning together." Harry clapped his hands together, "Ok, let's start something I have learnt." Harry closed his eyes and a strip of transparent glass appeared on the floor, "This is an exercise to improve your stealth."
Harry stepped on the strip, around his foot the floor turned a yellow colour, he stamped his foot this time and it flared red around his foot, he did it one more time but this time he lightly laid his foot down on the surface, and no colour appeared.
"Make it across here without it flaring red…that is the exercise," Harry said stepping aside. Zach Smith was first to come up, he went on the very tips of his toes he didn't make it far.
"That is not a good way to walk. You have to be able to move fast and light" Harry told him. He tried again, but still no luck. Draco stepped forward and tried his luck, he didn't go on this toes but in stead went normal footing but with his heel just hanging above the ground. He made it past halfway before he was caught.
"That was a very good attempt, but you stalled too long. You… Have…. To… Be… Fast," Harry told them. "Keep trying this till you get it right…and don't try to cheat either, because A) you can't and B) you get nothing from it if you cheat." Harry walked straight out through the walls and making them transparent with a thought. A spell whizzed by Harry's ear just as he appeared in the room.
"Sorry Harry!" Hermione called from her position next to a blonde Hufflepuff boy.
"I see we have to work on aiming with some of you," Harry said dryly.
A/N: Sorry this took so long…but well…I got kind of lost with this story.
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