September faded away, allowing for October, and a drastic change in weather. The Forbidden Forest now looked like a sea of golds and reds as the leaves changed colors. With each passing day, the air got a little cooler, and more and more, students could be seen wearing sweaters, or light jackets about the castle and grounds.
The entire school was a buzz with the promise of the first Hogsmeade weekend. The closer it got, the more anxious the students became, and the teachers had more difficulty in getting their charges to focus.
On the Saturday morning of the highly anticipated weekend, Harry, Hermione and Neville entered the Great Hall for breakfast.
"Seriously, Harry. Don't forget." Hermione was saying.
"Hermione, there is no way in the world I'll forget. You've pounded it into my head that I need to be at the Hog's Head at One. Daphne will be with me, and she knows how important it is that I'm at the Hogs Head at one. I will be there at one." Harry said exasperatedly as he took his seat.
"I just don't know why we have to have a private meting about this in the village. I thought we already decided we would get together to learn defense, and I would do my best to teach."
"You'll understand later, Harry." Hermione said as she took some toast.
"See what?" Tracey Davis asked as she and Daphne joined their friends.
"Hermione was reminding Harry where he needed to be today." Neville said.
"At the Hog's Head." Daphne smiled. "You didn't really think I'd forget after that very impassioned speech you gave me, did you?" The brunette smiled.
"You look really great." Harry smiled at Daphne who returned the smile.
"Your so sweet." Daphne kissed her boy friend's cheek.
"Good morning all. Hey Tracey." Ron smiled charmingly as he past the group. Things had been a bit strained between Ron and his former friends, though he did seemed to have turned over a new leaf. He seemed much calmer lately, and didn't seem to care that the two Slytherin girls had made themselves a part of Harry's circle of friends. He also had apologized to Neville for his behavior and let him know that he was happy that he and Hermione were together.
However, Harry and the others had noticed that Ron seemed very fascinated by Tracey, though the blonde girl did not seem to reciprocate the attention. In fact, she seemed to be growing more and more agitated by it all.
"Ok, seriously, what happened between you two?" Hermione asked for what felt like the thousandth time.
"You need to tell them." Daphne said patiently.
"Wait, you know?" Harry looked accusingly at his girlfriend.
"Yes, but I promised I wouldn't say anything." Daphne shrugged.
"I never should have done it." Tracey sighed, looking up the table where Ron was sitting, piling food onto his plate. "I was trying to make a point."
"What exactly happened?" Hermione pressed.
"I maybe…sort of…kind of…"
"Oh for heaven's sake." Daphne rolled her eyes. "She kissed him."
"WHAT?" Harry and the others all but shouted.
"I know!" Tracey said, slamming her head onto the table. "ow."
"Why in the world would you kiss him?" Hermione asked.
"I was trying to prove to him that we weren't evil." Tracey said, her head still on the table.
"But evidently very charitable." Daphne said.
"Hey, come on now." Harry said defensively. "Ron's not that bad."
"No, He's really not." Neville added, glancing at the Redhead who was happily enjoying his breakfast.
"Except that Temper of his." Daphne said.
"And how childish he gets." Hermione added. "Not to mention his atrocious eating habits."
They all glanced over to se Ron shoving an entire pancake in his mouth.
"But you can't lead him on. He thinks you like him now or something."
"I know!" Tracey said, finally sitting up again. "I didn't do it to make him fall for me, but now…I don't want to hurt his feelings."
"The longer you wait, the worse it's going to get." Neville said sadly.
"You need to tell him you're not interested in him like that, and you need to do it today." Hermione advised.
"She's right." Harry said. "It's only going to get worse if you wait."
"Ok!" Tracey groaned, holding up her hands to try and stop them all from further comment. "I will let him know."
"Onto another matter." Daphne smiled. "How many people did you convince to join us this after noon?"
Hermione shook her head quickly. Harry didn't miss her startled reaction or the movement of her eyes towards him. He also caught Daphne looking away quickly.
"Alright, what's going on?" Harry said dropping his fork to his plate.
"We'll tell you later." Hermione said, quickly looking around them.
"No, you'll tell me now, or I won't come. I've got enough people trying to keep me in the dark. I don't need it from you."
"Well," Hermione said, looking to Daphne or Tracey for help. Neither girl seemed inclined to offer assistance. "Well, Alright then. I may have mentioned my idea to a few others and they were more than a little interested."
"How many people?" Harry asked, his voice dangerous.
"Harry." Daphne said, her hand going to his back and rubbing it soothingly. "This is rather important, don't you think? If people are interested in learning how to defend themselves, don't you think they should be able to?"
"Yeah, but I can't help feeling like I'm being tricked into this." Harry said angrily.
"I'm sorry, Harry." Hermione said sadly. "I just thought that you'd be less willing to help if you knew exactly what I was planning. Especially as you were going to be the center of attention here."
Harry sighed, still upset with his friend. He knew that her heart was in the right place, and that her intentions were pure. And Hermione was correct in assuming that he would more than likely have been far more resistant to the idea if he'd known exactly what she had been planning. But then again, Hermione and Daphne were right. This was important.
"Fine." Harry said. "But you and I are going to have a very long talk about keeping secrets in the near future. Now, who did you tell about this?"
At this all three girls, and Neville suddenly looked guilty. Harry felt his anger flaring again.
"We'll talk about it in the carriage." Daphne said, tugging on Harry's arm and leading him out of the Great Hall. Harry allowed himself to be lead out to the carriages that were lining up to take students down to the village of Hogsmeade.
Harry's anger all but evaporated when he once again laid eyes on the ghastly sight of the strange skeletal black horses.
"What is it?" Daphne asked when Harry suddenly stopped.
"I'd forgotten about them." his voice soft, and wondrous. Harry stepped forward and lifted his hand so the hors could give it a sniff. Harry was amazed at how something so dangerous and nightmarish looking could be so friendly. Harry couldn't help but think of that old muggle saying that warned never to judge a book by it's cover.
"Harry. Will you help me?" Daphne asked, her hand outstretched, feeling the air for the horse that Harry was now stroking gently. He gave a soft smile and took her hand to guide it to the horses snout.
"Ewww." Daphne shivered when she felt the horse's tongue slip across her palm.
"It must have smelled the bacon you had.' Harry chuckled.
"It's gross." Daphne shivered again. "I just wanted to pet it, not get a bath from it."
"Sorry." Harry chuckled and moved Daphne's hand so that it made contact with the smooth skin of the skeletal horse.
"What does it look like?" Daphne asked.
"Strange." Harry said. "It looks like a winged horse, but like a skeleton. Why can I see it, and you can't?"
"I don't know." Daphne said thoughtfully. "It sounds familiar, but I can't think of what it might be. Come on, let's get to Hogsmeade."
They got into the carriage and it began it's journey to the village.
"So, who else knows about this little experiment of Hermione's?" Harry said, his irritation returning.
"Harry, I know you're upset, and I'm sorry for my part in it. I didn't realize that Hermione wasn't telling you everything." Daphne said softly, reaching out to take his hand. "But we all think that this is a really good idea."
"You're stalling." Harry eyed her carefully. Daphne sighed and nodded.
"You're right, I am."
"Why? Just tell me."
"Ok." Daphne said. She took a big breath and let it out slowly. "Hermione asked us to feel out people who could be interested in learning from you. There was, as I'm sure you could guess, very little interest in Slytherin, though we did get three people, two of which you've already spoken with."
"Astoria and Millicent?" Harry asked, trying to keep calm.
"And Blaise Zabini. He doesn't hang around Malfoy, and considers himself to be a bit of a loner."
"Can we trust him?" Harry asked.
"He's arrogant, and a bit full of himself, but He's also quite honorable. I think he can be trusted. There was a lot of interest in Hufflepuff, and a few Ravenclaws. From what Hermione said, there was also more than a handful of Gryffindors willing to learn from you."
"Wait, Astoria's a second year. She won't be able to come to Hogsmeade." Harry said.
"She'll be informed of everything later. All you got to do is come to the Hogs head, and let Hermione take care of the rest. In the meantime," Daphne smiled as the carriage came to a halt. "You can show your girlfriend a good time in the village."
Harry couldn't help but smile as Daphne jumped out of the carriage and turned to wait for him, a huge smile on her face. He'd been suckered into this whole thing, and was admittedly a bit angry about it all. At the same time, he couldn't help but be reminded how important it all was every time he attended Umbridge's class.
Harry soon forgot his concerns as Daphne led him through the shops of Hogsmeade. They stopped into Scrivenshaft's for some new quills, and Daphne humored Harry and allowed him to stop into Zonko's. though she did tell him that if he spent to long, she would demand to be taken to Madam Puddifoot's. Harry had heard horror stories from other guys about the wretched tea shop, and decided it best not to linger, in case his girlfriend made good on her threat.
"I think we have time to get lunch at the Three Broomsticks." Daphne remarked as they left Honeydukes where they had both restocked their own personal sweet stocks.
"That would be good. I'd hate to face the masses on an empty stomach." Harry said, taking Daphne's hand.
"Oh stop it." Daphne smiled, nudging his shoulder with her own. "I promise to protect you."
"Well, now I feel better." he smiled, and Daphne couldn't help but chuckle at him. She knew he hated his fame, and the unwanted attention it brought. She also suspected this was the main reason he was so anxious about leading their group and teaching defense. But there was something more to it. Something he hadn't mentioned at all. Was it self doubt? Or something more? Daphne knew she'd have to be patient, and wait for him to give voice to his concerns.
After lunch, the two headed up to the Hog's Head where Hermione, Neville and Tracey were supposed to meet them. The Hog's Head was in very poor shape, Harry noticed. It looked to be in only slightly better shape than the Shrieking Shack. They opened the door, and were unsurprised to see how absolutely filthy it was inside.
The barman was wiping a large pint glass, and it appeared he was wiping dirt on, rather than the opposite. There was a thick layer of caked in dirt on the or and the tables and chairs all looked ready to collapse. There was very little sunlight, as each and every window looked as if they'd never once been cleaned. There was also a very pungent smell that reminded Harry of a petting zoo he'd once visited on a school trip when he was very young.
"Over here." Hermione called out, breaking the thick silence. Hermione had chosen a table in the furthest corner of the pub, with Neville at her side, looking as nervous as Harry and Daphne felt.
"I'm beginning to think meeting here was a horrid idea." Daphne said as they joined their friends.
"Don't be silly." Hermione smiled. "This is perfect. It's totally away from over attentive ears."
Daphne looked around the bar skeptically. It was true that the bar had a shady reputation, and now that she was there herself, Daphne could see why. There were only four other people in the bar, two of which were talking to each other in very hushed whispers on the other side of the room. A woman in a very long veil sat by her self, and a man covered in dirty rags and bandages was drinking at the bar.
"I got butterbeers for you both." Hermione said, sliding the two extra bottles to Harry and Daphne. The bottles looked quite dirty, and Harry wondered how old they were, and began to wonder if butterbeer went bad.
The door to the tavern opened again, and Tracey came in, followed by Millicent, who looked thoroughly disgusted by the bar. The door didn't even close before several more people stepped inside, including Ron, and his twin brothers, Fred and George. Parvati Patil and her twin Padma, along with Lavender Brown, who looked a little upset that her shopping trip had been interrupted. Blaise Zabini walked in looking sharply about the tavern with a critical eye. Dennis Creevey, Dean Thomas, and Ginny Weasley entered, followed By Luna Lovegood, and Cho Chang, with her curly haired friend, whose name Harry didn't know. A large group of Hufflepuffs came in at once, and Harry was sure it was every single fifth year in the badger house. Lisa Turpin and Mandy Brocklehurst, along with Micheal Corner and Anthony Goldstein of Ravenclaw sauntered in. Finally, Angelina Johnson, Katie Bell and Alicia Spinnet and Cormac McClaggen walked in, and went to the bar to order up butterbeers.
Harry thought barman was going to start yelling or something. Clearly he didn't know what to make of his sudden upturn in business. Grumbling the whole while, the tall barman began serving up dusty bottles and taking handfuls of silver coins.
When everyone was settled, Hermione stood up and greeted them.
"Thank you all for coming." she said, her voice shaking a bit. "We all know why we're here of course, and that's because we all want to learn how to defend ourselves. Since Professor," Hermione put as much venom in the word as she could. "Umbridge refuses to teach us, I thought it might be a good idea if e took matters in to our own hands, and really learn to use spells, and not just theory."
"So we can pass our OWLs" Micheal Corner smiled knowingly at Hermione, who glared back.
"Not only that, but to be prepared in case we have to protect ourselves or our families because he's come back. Lord…V-v-voldemort has come back."
The were the usual gasps, and a few people who had been taking sips of their drinks began spluttering and coughing. Hermione waited for this all to pas before pressing on.
"So that's our plan. If you want to join us, then we need to decide on a few…"
"Where's the proof?" Someone asked. Nearly everyone turned to look at a tall blonde boy, that Harry recognized, but was unable to remember his name.
"Where's the proof that You-Know-Who's back? He hasn't been seen, and nobody's been killed and found with the Dark Mark over their home. So where's the proof?"
"Dumbledore believes he's back…" Hermione tried, but the boy waved off her remark.
"You mean Dumbledore believes him" The boy pointed at Harry.
Realization hit Harry hard. He suddenly knew why they had all come. They wanted to hear the story. Harry shivered as the memory of that horrible night came back to him. He felt Daphne give his hand a comforting squeeze and he smiled softly at her before getting to his feet.
"What's your name?" Harry asked the blonde boy.
"Zacharias Smith." The boy said pompously.
"Alright, Zacharias, I suppose you only came to hear the story? You want to hear the thrilling tale of what happened to me that night last June?"
Zacharias didn't move, but kept his eyes locked on Harry's
"Who else came because they thought they might hear some great adventure story?"
No one said anything, but Harry saw more than a few heads turn away in embarrassment.
"That's what I thought." he said dejectedly. "Well, it's no fairytale story. There is no happy ending. I'm not going to stand hear and tell you how brave I was, because I wasn't. I was scared out of my mind. I could barely think straight. That's what it's like. That's what it's really like in a real fight for your life. You don't get a time out so you can think of a good spell to use. You get a split second, and whatever you come up with could very well be the last thing you do."
There was a long silence as Harry looked at each and every face in turn.
"Is it true you can produce a Patronous Charm?"
Harry turned and saw a pretty redhead girl smiling at him. "My Auntie said you could."
"Yeah." Harry said, a little off guard.
"Honestly?" The girl asked. "A corporeal patronus?"
"Yeah, it's a stag." Harry said, not exactly sure what was happening. There was a wave of murmuring.
"Wow, Harry." Lee Jordan said. "I never knew that."
"I learned it in third year."
"Will you teach us how to do it?" A blonde girl asked.
"Yeah.' Harry said, shrugging slightly.
"Did you really kill a basilisk with that sword in Dumbledore's office?" A boy that Harry recognized as Justin Finch-Fletchley asked in open awe.
"How'd you know about that?" Harry asked in wonder.
"I had to go up to his office last year, and one of the portraits mentioned it. Is it true?"
"Um, Yeah." Harry said, suddenly embarrassed.
"He also stopped You-Know-Who from getting the Sorcerer's stone in first year." Neville pointed out.
"And he fought the Dragon, and the Merpeople and only Merlin knows what else last year." Daphne added.
Harry waved his arms quickly. "I had help on virtually all of that, and more than a little luck."
"Not with the Dragon.' Justin said.
"You faced Voldemort on your own in first year.' Hermione reminded him. "And last year. But we've gotten off the point, which is that we all want to learn how to defend ourselves."
"Well said." someone said, and there was a general agreement on that fact. Hermione pulled out a rolled up piece of parchment, looking at Daphne, and then at Tracey, who was smiling a bit too wickedly for Harry's liking.
"I know there are a lot of you involved in Quidditch and other things, and we don't have a place in which to gather at this moment. And also, as we don't really want people blathering about this, we're going to ask that if you're serious about joining us, that you come and sign your name on this parchment as a sort of agreement."
That seemed to bring the excitement down a bit.
"There nothing for you to worry about." Tracey said confidently. She got up and put her name down first. Neville and Hermione followed, and then Daphne wrote her name on before passing it to Millicent.
The fact that three Slytherins signed up without protest seemed to encourage others who were a bit resistant, and soon everyone had scribbled their name onto the parchment before Hermione rolled it back up and slipped it into her bag.
"We plan on meeting at least once a week, and before anyone gets upset, we're going to make sure it doesn't interfere with anyone's Quidditch practice." Hermione said. There were several sighs of relief, and Harry saw Angelina Johnson smile proudly. Almost as one, everyone got up and began to leave the pub until finally only Harry and his friends were left.
Harry noticed Ron had lingered a bit, and had been watching Tracey, before he finally left them alone.
"You still haven't talked to him, have you?" Harry asked. Tracey's cheeks pinkened, and she shook her head.
"I'm going to, I promise. I just hadn't seen him since breakfast."
Harry nodded, and he could see that Tracey was dreading the coming confrontation, but he knew she would keep her word. He didn't envy the girl, and hated to imagine how Ron would take the rejection.
"We still have some time before we need to head back." Daphne smiled, taking Harry's hand. "Let's take a walk."
They waved to their friends, and the two set off towards the Shrieking shack.
"You were really great in there." Daphne said softly. "I'm very proud of you."
"I wanted to punch that Zacharias kid.' Harry admitted.
"You can't blame them for being curious, Harry. Can you say honestly that you wouldn't want to know the story if it had happened to someone else?"
Harry thought about tha for a few minutes before admitting he'd likely be just as curious.
"I wish it had happened to someone else." Harry sighed.
"But it didn't. And you proved how strong you really are by coming back. By living to tell the tale, so to speak. In fact, you might think about doing just that. Perhaps if people heard from you exactly what happened, maybe they'd start doing something."
"I don't know." Harry sighed.
"Harry, I know it must have been horrible, and I'm not going to pretend it didn't affect you, because I can see it in your eyes whenever the subject comes up." Daphne said calmly, turning him to face her. "But you could be saving a lot of lives by sharing your story, lives that will be lost because of what Fudge is doing."
Harry nodded. He knew that she was right, of course. Maybe it was his responsibility to the rest of the magical world to do what the government seemed to be refusing to do. To warn the people, and make them aware of the growing danger that lurked in the shadows.
"What are you suggesting?" Harry asked. Daphne stood on her tiptoes and kissed him softly. The kiss became more passionate as Harry wrapped his arms around her tightly, and Daphne moaned softly. She clutched the front of his cloak and pressed herself into his embrace. Slowly, they broke the kiss, and stared at each other for a long time.
"We'll figure something out.' She smiled, running her hands through his hair, before kissing him again.