Twenty-Five: Dumbledore's Army
Disclaimers: I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and that also does not belong to me!
Allen had told her this morning about the newly found place for their secret Defense Against the Dark Arts group. It was well-hidden, well-protected, probably impossible for Dolores Umbridge to find. In other words, it was safe, or so he said in his ever promising, confident way that always made her believe in him.
So why, Lenalee wondered, was she still so worried?
We're doing the right thing, aren't we? she thought, the wind blowing in through the window and playing with her black hair. We're not doing anything wrong, are we?
It was a difficult question to answer. She wondered if it would get in the way of their mission at all, or if it would help them, if they were even allowed to get help from outsiders. Either way, the thought of learning something illegally in a magically hidden classroom somehow put her at unease. Wasn't this a piece of cake compared to all of the other things they'd gone through? Lavi had insisted it was a simple training for them, that they'd never encounter a near-death experience by learning illegal magic. He wasn't mistaken, was he?
But if he was, if he and Allen were wrong, what would happen? To the mission, to them, to everyone- if everything went wrong, would she be able to depend on them for the rest of the way, or would such mistake make sure that no one would be able to do anything...?
"Lenalee?"
Hermione's voice jerked her roughly back into reality, and Lenalee was surprised to see that the sky was a purplish tinge and Hermione was tugging on her sleeve, saying, "Allen and Lavi are calling you."
"Oh," Lenalee gasped softly and smiled, "thanks. I'll see you later then."
"It's not like you to not hear us," Lavi commented as the three Exorcists left the Gryffindor common room together. "Were you thinking about Home?"
"Huh? Oh-yes, I was," Lenalee said hastily, feeling guilty that she had just been doubting him, and she glanced at Allen who was watching her curiously. Coud he see the lie in her eyes?
If he did, he didn't show it. He just smiled understandingly at her and patted her shoulder, saying, "Everyone's worried, but we'll be going home soon, don't worry, Lenalee."
That smile again.
Lenalee felt her heart lighten. She nodded and followed the boys down the hall to the staircase leading upstairs. "Yeah," she whispered, "we'll be going home."
Those eyes, so confident. Why did it make her believe so much?
"Where was it again?" Lavi asked Allen.
"The seventh floor opposite the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy being clubbed by those trolls," Allen answered. "That's what Dobby the house elf said."
"Speaking of house elves, what happened you and Hermione and spew?"
"Actually, it's S.P.E.W. and it stands for the Society for the Promotion of Elvish Welfare," Allen said, "and I really don't know how much she progressed over the past few weeks. I really haven't been doing much in it, anyway."
"We're here," Lenalee said loudly, grabbing the boys by their collar and pointing to the tapestry beside them. The two of them had been so into their conversation that they hadn't realized they'd arrived at their destination.
"What now?" Lavi asked.
"We have to concentrate hard on what we need, Dobby said, and walk past this wall three times," Allen said, and the three Exorcists immediately did so, concentrating hard on the thought, We need somewhere to learn to fight where they can't find us...
"What the bloody hell are you three doing?" Kanda's voice cut through them on their third walk down the hall. Allen saw the samurai's eyes flicker between them and the stretch of wall. "Walking past a door?"
"Is this the room the house elf told you about, Allen?" Miranda and Krory asked as they appeared behind Kanda, looking anxiously at the door that wasn't there before.
"The Room of Requirement," Lavi confirmed, putting on hand on the knob. "Let's go in, shall we, guys?"
"Where's Komui?" Lenalee asked, the absense of her brother being something that never ceased to catch her attention.
"He's not a wizard," Kanda answered simply, opening to door just as Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked around the corner. "We're able to use magic because we're accomodaters of the Innocence crystals or we somehow have magical blood in us. Komui is neither because he once tried to use my wand and nothing happened."
"Hi guys," Allen said to Harry and his friends. "Take a look."
"These will be good when we're practicing Stunning," Ron said, nudging one of the cushions on the floor with his foot. Hermione exclaimed at the rows of books along a wall and immediately sat down to read one of them. There was a soft knock at the door. Ginny, Neville, Lavendar, Parvati, and Dean walked in.
"Whoa," Dean said in an impressed tone. "What is this place?"
Harry launched into an explanation of the room, but several more people arrived before he'd finished and he started all over. Meanwhile, Allen and Lavi greeted anyone who entered, Lavi checking their name to make sure they were on the list, playfully of course, and by the time eight o'clock arrived, every cushion on the floor was occupied. Hermione placed her book carefully beside her, marking the page.
"Well," Harry began. "This is the place we've found for practices, and you've- er- obviously found it okay-"
"It's fantastic!" a Ravenclaw who Allen immediately recognized as the pretty Cho Chang exclaimed, and several people murmured their agreement.
"It's bizarre," Fred said with a frown. "We once hid from Filch in here, remember, George? But it was just a broom cupboard then..."
"Hey, Harry, what's this stuff?" Dean piped up, pointing to several objects and trinkets lying on a shelf at the end of the room.
"Dark Detectors," Harry answered shortly, walking over to them. Lenalee scooted out of the way. "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..." He gazed into a cracked mirror for a moment and turned back around. "Well, 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," she said.
"Harry's leader," Cho said at once, sending Hermione an appalled look, and once again, others agreed with her. The Exorcists stood at the back, feeling a bit uneasy and detached from the rest of them.
"yes, but I think we ought to vote on it properly," Hermione retorted. "It makes it formal and gives him authority. So- everyone who thinks Harry ought to be our leader?"
Lenalee thought the election was a bit unneccessary, for everyone raised their hands. Hermione didn't seem to realize that none of the Exorcists were participating, though.
"Er-right, thanks," Harry mumbled. "And- what, Hermione?"
"I also think we ought to have a name. It would promote a feeling of team spirit and unity, don't you think?"
Angelina Johnson practically bounced with excitement. "Can we be the Anti-Umbridge League?" she asked hopefully.
"Or the Ministry of Magic Are Morons Group?" Fred suggested, and Lavi snickered. Allen's face twitched.
"I was thinking," Hermione said with a frown towards 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?" Cho said. "The D.A. for short, so nobofy knows what we're taking about?"
Lenalee saw Ginny glance back at Allen, sending him a questioning look, and he shrugged back. Ginny said, "Yeah, the D.A.'s good. Only let's make it stand for Dumbledore's Army because that's the Ministry's worst fear, isn't it?"
"All in favor of the D.A.?" Hermione called, a bit bossily, sitting on her knees to count. "That's a majority- motion passed!"
As she pinned a piece of parchment with the list of all their names onto a nearby wall and wrote DUMBLEDORE'S ARMY across the top in large letters, Harry said, "Right, shall we get practicing then? I was thinking, the first thing we should to is Expelliarmus, you know, the Disarming Charm. I know it's pretty basic, but I've found it really useful-"
"Oh, please," Zacharias Smith, a Hufflepuff Quidditch player, huffed with a roll of his eyes. "I don't think Expelliarmus is exactly going to help us against You-Know-Who, do you?"
"I've used it against him," Harry replied smoothly. "It saved my life last June. But if you think it's beneath you, you can leave."
Smith didn't move. Nobody did.
"Okay. I reckon we should all divide into pairs and practice."
"Would you like to join me, Lenalee?" Allen asked politely as everyone scattered to pair up with their friends. Lenalee saw Lavi drag a reluctant Kanda to a free space, and Krory and Miranda, who were getting along with each other fairly well, had gone off to find a safe place to practice. Glancing around, she saw that Harry had picked up a deserted Neville and was practicing with him as well. She smiled at Allen and accepted his offer.
Lenalee had expected Allen to be a good caster of spells. He had demonstrated as much during their short lived life as Hogwarts students. He was also a good teacher and would point out easy tips whenever Lenalee didn't do the spell particularly well. He was, in addition, a wonderful target. If any stray spells hit bookshelves, the books that flew into the air always found a way to come into contact with Allen's head. And being the gentle boy he was, whenever he Disarmed her, he would Summon her wand with a flick of his own and mumur of, "Accio wand."
Nine o'clock arrived quickly, and when Lenalee left the room with her companions, she couldn't help but look forward to their next meeting. "It was fun, ne?" Lavi asked cheerfully, and Lenalee nodded enthusiastically.
The weeks passed in a flash. The amount of files the Exorcists sorted out decreased overtime, and after a while, there was barely any to keep them occupied for an hour. By the end of two weeks, the only thing Lenalee really looked forward to was the D.A. meetings. But as the weeks disappeared, the first Quidditch match of the season came around the corner, and the meetings had to be put on hold. Lenalee decided to devote her time to help Ron get extra practice as a Keeper, in hopes of increasing his self confidence. She noticed that Allen and Ginny were often see talking to each other, sometimes in the common room and other times, walking by the large lake. She couldn't help but wonder why Ginny's boyfriend, Michael Corner never seemed angered by it, but when she once spotted him talking to Allen with grins on both their faces, she came to the conclusion that the boys were friends with each other. Hermione seemed to, almost on purpose, run into Kanda in the halls, and then she would tag along beside him, talking, and sometimes the samurai would be talking back to her. Lavi meanwhile, was always hanging around with the Weasley twins and Lee Jordan, although he never joined in when they tested their products on the first years. Krory seemed to be in love with the greenhouse, and Miranda, too, was with a smile whenever Lenalee spotted her. Even Komui was in a cheerful mood.
There were no Akuma attacks since the first Friday. Lenalee felt that that had some contribution to everyone's good moods. It was, indeed, a peaceful world compared to the one they called home. She sometimes felt that nobody would want to return to the Order when the time came for them to.
She could only hope not.
Hello,
I know it's a bit short...hehe.