AN: This chapter made me realize why authors write one-shots. There is a chance that I may expand on the character foundations that I have created with this chapter eventually. I really enjoyed writing this chapter and I hope that you enjoy reading it; Happy Fourth of July! I like reviews more than fireworks. :-)
Chapter 15
Neville Longbottom had just arrived at Platform 9 and ¾. His grandmother Augusta had told him that he would have to be on his guard when he got back to Hogwarts. The Longbottom matron had fallen ill, and could not take part in guarding Hogwarts, but she trusted Neville to uphold the family honor. Neville found it odd to be returning to Hogwarts after all that had happened since Dumbledore's death. As a first year, Neville Longbottom would have been classified as shy and timid. After the battle at the ministry, the shy, timid, and nervous boy had gained confidence in his abilities and his friends. Neville could not be certain what the future would entail but he was certain that he would do what was required of him to make his parents proud while living up to the Longbottom name.
These were the thoughts that went through Neville's head when he felt the Galleon that Hermione Granger had charmed for the members of Dumbledores Army heat up. He looked at the Galleon that was so intrinsically linked to the change that had occurred to his personality and saw that either Harry or Hermione were calling for a meeting right after the Start of Term feast.
Cho Chang's life had been on a downward spiral since Dumbledore's death. Her parents had been among those deemed unworthy and expelled from the ministry for supposedly being unworthy. Although the Changs were as pure as any of the Noble and Ancient houses of Magical Britain they faced the same discrimination as the muggle-born population because of the racism that had been so deeply embedded in Britain's magical population. The Changs, upon being ejected from their Ministry positions, found themselves effectively blacklisted; since they were deemed unworthy to work in the Ministry no one wanted to take a chance associating with the family.
Cho had determined that she would stand against the corrupt system that had caused so much distress for her and her family. She didn't do it often but, perhaps to symbolize her decision to rebel against the pre-established order, Cho had taken out her D.A. Galleon and was surprised, sitting in her compartment on the Hogwarts Express, to feel the metal warm up. This was her chance, Cho would fight.
Susan Bones and Hannah Abbot, as usual, were sharing a compartment with Ernie McMillan. The three were currently discussing the state of the magical world. Hannah Abbot and Susan Bones were practically sisters; they had grown up together and had every intention of sharing every important moment of their lives with the other. Thus when it became known that Voldemort had personally killed Madam Bones, Susan's Aunt, Hannah shared in her friend's grief. Although Ernie was not as close with the two girls as they were with one another his Hufflepuff loyalty ensured that he would support them in their vendetta against the Dark Lord.
Although each of the three had one of Hermione's charmed Galleons it was Hannah who felt the heat that indicated that the D.A. was being called together once again. As Hufflepuffs when it became known that Harry, Ron, and Hermione had used the coins to call for help before their highly publicized trip to the ministry during their fifth year and no Hufflepuff had heeded the call the trio had resolved to keep the coins on hand, just in case such a call may be made again. Now they would be given the opportunity to atone for not being there when their friends needed them. The three nodded in agreement indicating that they would go to the proposed meeting.
Katie Bell, Alicia Spinnet, and Angelina Johnson, Gryffindor tower's flying vixens, had all been signed upon graduating the previous team to various professional English quidditch teams. They hadn't had many opportunities to reunite since their separation. In commemoration of the day that they knew the Hogwarts Express would be taking a new batch of first years to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry they had agreed to meet at a pub for a drink. They were in the process of reliving the good times that they had at Hogwarts.
Katie Bell had always strove to be the best quidditch player that she could be after a certain green-eyed seeker had been appointed to the team during her second year in hopes that he would take notice of her. She was still slightly bitter that he never had approached her and asked her out on a date but, in order to remind herself of what had encouraged her to practice so hard during her years at Hogwarts, she had turned her D.A. Galleon into a necklace that rested right over her heart. Initially when she felt it begin to heat up she attributed it to the Firewhiskey that Alicia loved to make the group drink. After about twenty seconds, Katie realized that the heat was coming from the necklace. She showed her friends and the group determined that they would Floo McGonagall to arrange a visit to Hogwarts. Leaving the rest of their drinks untouched the girls made their way over to the owner of the Hog's Head to see if he would let them use his Floo.
Weasley's Wizard Wheezes had been under intense scrutiny from the new Ministry of Magic. It had been a well-known fact that Fred and George Weasley were the ones responsible for equipping the Department for Magical Law Enforcement and the Auror office with charmed hats and gloves. These hats and gloves provided the wielder with a shield charm powerful enough to prevent most basic offensive spells for a short while.
Under the pretense that they were operating their business as usual, the twins had secretly been mass producing these defensive garments since they had received the message that professor McGonagall expected there to be an attack on Hogwarts. Their initial reaction was that they should immediately respond, but McGonagall had insisted that by making sure that the students and defenders of Hogwarts would be protected from collateral spell damage. The twins were almost finished with the spell work and would Floo to Hogwarts shortly.
The Patil twins, Lavender Brown, Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan were somewhat surprised when their apartment door was opened by a determined looking Ginny Weasley. The group had noticed, but was not surprised, that the three most visible Gryffindors of their year were conspicuously absent. They mused about where their classmates could possibly be since they weren't on the train. It was commonly known that the group had managed to break into the Ministry of Magic over the summer but then they had fallen off the map.
Eventually the conversation turned into a discussion of what changes the school would face since Dumbledore's death the previous year. Collectively they hoped that that they weren't going to be subjected to another Umbridge. They were musing about the possible successors to the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts. The conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door to their compartment followed by a determined looking Ginny Weasley.
Before Ginny Weasley went to bed on the previous night she had overheard her parents talking about a message that they had received from professor McGonagall. The Weasley parents had been discussing their plan to maintain appearances by being sighted while dropping Ginny off at King's Cross station before they travelled to Hogwarts via Floo. Although Ginny wasn't able to ascertain what was prompting her parents to travel to Hogwarts she had put two and two together and reasoned that Hogwarts must be in danger.
Based on her assumptions, Ginny had reached out to several other witches and wizards in her year and proposed reviving the D.A. to make sure that they were prepared for battle and not forced to sit on the side-lines while those they cared about put their lives on the line. Ginny was smiled as she recalled how receptive the older Gryffindors had been to the idea when she approached them before settling in the compartment that she was sharing with had walked into the compartment that she was currently sharing with the Creevey brothers, Nigel Wolpert, and Romilda Vane. Ginny knew that she had done the right thing when she felt her charmed D.A. Galleon being to heat up.
Of all the people in the Room of Requirement, Harry, Hermione, and Luna had been there the longest. Thus they were able to witness how the room adapted itself to their evolving needs as more and more people had arrived.
"Hermione, do you really think that anyone will see the coins," asked Harry.
"Honestly, I don't know," responded Hermione with an uncertain look on her face. "We just have to hope that one or two of the members of the D.A. had held on to their coins and that they will spread the message to everyone else."
"I think it was a great idea. I think that, now especially, more people will be reaching for the hope and promise represented by those charmed Galleons than ever before," said Luna in a surprisingly certain tone. "I know that I have held onto mine since we went to the Ministry on the HJP Rescue Mission."
"Well, as they say, the dice have been cast," stated Hermione. "We won't know how many people got the message until after tonight's feast."
"Right, you, Hermione," beamed Luna. "The door is opening, it must be professor McGonagall."
Luna was correct; the newly recognized Headmistress entered the room and drew everyone's attention. "Friends and colleagues, you have come here heeding a call that I sent out based on information that I received from the young, Mr. Potter. I trust Potter and believe that there is a real threat to the safety of those of Hogwarts. As soon as the students arrive tomorrow we shall cast the Fianto Duri, Protego Maxima, and Repello Inimigotum spells in order to make sure that the students are protected. I understand that this may seem a bit extreme given that we are acting on the word of someone who until very recently we thought of as a child but I assure you that Albus Dumbledore would have wanted us to put our trust in Harry. "
Throughout her speech, McGonagall had made her way to Harry. Under her breath she asked if he had anything that he wanted to add. Upon seeing his nod she redirected the room's attention by saying, "And now Mr. Potter would like a chance to speak."
Harry stepped forward so that he was standing beside his former Transfiguration professor. "Thank you all for coming here. Despite what you may have read in the Daily Prophet I do not just make things up because I want attention. Over the past year I have been acting under the instructions of professor Dumbledore. Due to incredibly dark magic Voldemort was able to cling to life when the killing curse that he had fired at me when I was a baby rebounded and hit him; over the past year I, along with Hermione and Luna, have been working to undo the magic that has allowed the supposed supposed 'Dark Lord' to flee from death. Unfortunately he recently realized what we have been doing and is now marching here to break the will of those who would oppose him. I do not wish this battle upon any of you, but if we are going to have to face him and his followers I think it is best that we stand together and don't give him the opportunity to pick us off individually; together we stand the best chance. I don't know when the battle will come but I believe that he will look upon our protective barrier as a challenge the final confrontation is coming and it will be an honor to be able to fight alongside the witches and wizards who have come here today."
"Well said, Harry," said a teary-eyed McGonagall. "Does anyone else have anything that they would like to add?"
Surprisingly, it was Ron Weasley who stepped forward to speak. "I haven't always made the best decisions in my life. I've been jealous, unreasonable, and probably a hundred other things that make me ashamed of myself. This summer, I abandoned Harry and Hermione. Now I intend to take this opportunity to stand beside them while we face the greatest challenge of our lives. I just wanted to say that I will do everything in my power to make sure that we win this war."
"Brave words, Mr. Weasley," acknowledged McGonagall.
Hermione moved so that she was standing next to Harry. "We have seen a lot over the past years. Together we have succeeded in many situations where individually we would have failed. The upcoming battle will be dangerous and it is very probable that some of our number will fall. I ask all of you to keep in mind what we are fighting for. We aren't just fighting just for ourselves but for our future as well. We fight for our children; so that they can have a future. So that they can go to school and not have to fear that, while they are in classes, their family is in danger. Harry, I will always be there for you. You were my first friend and have always been there for me, no matter what. I want to be by your side for this battle and for the rest of our lives. Harry James Potter, I love you with all my heart."
There were wolf-whistles as Hermione finished her speech and turned to Harry and gave him a kiss. Harry's brain was temporarily frozen by Hermione's public declaration of love but the kiss was hot enough to kick him into overdrive. Harry opened his mouth to allow Hermione's probing tongue entrance. Her arms wrapped around her waist as he pulled her closer and her arms wrapped around his neck as she attempted to convey all of the love that she felt for him through that one kiss.
While Minerva McGonagall's heart was brimming with joy at the sight of two of her favorite pupils embracing their love she had also been raised in a different age where such public displays of affection were strongly discouraged. Thus she was the one who cleared her throat loudly to remind Harry and Hermione that they were still under the scrutiny of the Order of the Phoenix.
Remembering where they were, Harry fought his desire to continue kissing his beloved Hermione and pulled back slightly. "I love you too, Hermione. I couldn't imagine a future without you," Harry stated still breathless from the kiss.
"Get a room, why don't ya," someone shouted from the crowd.
"Well, we had one before you lot showed up," joked Harry as he took Hermione's hand. "Professor McGonagall, could you have some of the elves bring us some food. If we are going to be going in to battle soon then we should probably get something in our stomachs."