Chapter Eight: Disbanded

The next few DA meetings were very risky; Neville had found a way to make the room inaccessible to Umbridge or her new group of followers she'd called the Inquisitorial Squad. As one could imagine, Draco and his band of Slytherins had joined up right away – extra credit and a chance to bring our organization down, why not? All group meetings had been banned from Hogwarts now and what we were doing was considered illegal.

The DA wasn't just about learning magic anymore; it had become the rebellion against the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, himself. Fudge didn't want anyone at Hogwarts gaining the ability to beat him in a fight. He thought Dumbledore was building an army against him because of his recent claim that You-Know-Who had, in fact, not returned. I knew he had, and I was ready to take on whatever the Ministry had coming our way to prove this fact untrue.

"Okay, today we're going to work on Patronus charms." Harry instructed, snaking in and out of groups in the crowded room. "Just focus on a happy memory, allow it to fill you up..."

I would be practicing this one with Fred. "Happy memory..." he beamed and looked me in the eye.

"...What?"

"I'm thinking of when you kissed me that time at the ball."

I felt my cheeks go red. "That was a great day."

"Great kiss, too."

Fred waved his wand with me in mind and shouted. "Expecto patronum!" A small wisp of silvery grey smoke came from the tip of his wand. "Excellent! Alright Sara, you give it a go."

"Okay." I focused on my happiest memory. At the moment, that memory was the time at Hogsmeade the year prior, when I had spent only a minute together with Fred, George and Cedric – the only time I'd ever been surrounded by people I truly love. "Expecto patronum!" Nothing happened.

"What were you remembering?" Fred asked.

I shook my head violently. "Must not have been strong enough. Let's try something else..."

My mind focused on the day at the World Cup... before the Death Eater's invaded and scared the bejesus out of me – when I had first met Fred and George.

"Expecto patronum!" A faded silver bat emitted from the tip of my wand and flew to the ceiling before disappearing. I laughed at my success and grinned at Fred. "Look!" In all the excitement, I hadn't noticed everyone else had stopped casting spells and the room was completely silent. "What's going...?"

Before I could get my question out, a loud bang sounded from the south wall. One of the younger Gryffindors, obviously braver than any of us, made his way toward the sound and squinted through the tiny hole that had formed, I'd assumed due to the bang. He turned back to face the rest of the DA and furrowed his brow. "Umbridge?" he mouthed.

Suddenly the whole wall exploded, sending a wave of dust and rubble toward its members. I screamed and fell back into Fred's arms at the blast that sent half of our group flying backward, mostly to the ground. "Get them!" Umbridge's voice screamed loudly.

I didn't have much time before a Slytherin girl with short, dark hair and a pale complexion cast a spell and put me to sleep.

Every member in the DA found themselves waking up in the Great Hall. Umbridge stood at Dumbledore's podium dressed in a pink suit jacket, matching skirt, and a long pink overcoat. Next to her was a Ravenclaw maybe a year or two younger than I was. We were sitting at desks in the Great Hall, single desks in single file. "Welcome to your detention," she sneered. "You all know the rules and therefore are all aware that your actions in joining this club are illicit. From here on in, 'Dumbledore's Army' will be disbanded." Muttering around the Hall gave her the impression we were miserable with her decision. Here, I thought McGonagall said she wasn't allowed to punish her students... "You have Miss Edgecomb here to thank for informing me about the club before it got any more dangerous. You will all find a roll of parchment and a quill on the desk in front of you. You will write the phrase 'I will not break the rules' as many times as it takes for the message to sink in. I say three hours is good enough..."

"Three hours?" Ron exclaimed. "Are you mad?"

"Three and a half for you, Mr. Weasley. Any other objections?" The silence told Umbridge we didn't want to make it worse than it had to be. "Good. You may begin."

Those three hours were the worst hours spent in my life. She'd provided special quills that cut the phrase into the back of our hands as we wrote on the parchment. Everyone came out of the Great Hall bearing thick scars on their left hands, a few on their right. I clutched my hand as I left the hall, Fred's arm draped over my shoulder, George on my other side.

"I can't believe this is happening... what are we going to do now?"

Fred looked at his brother and beamed. "You know, George, I've always felt out futures lay outside the world of academic achievement."

"Fred, I've been thinking exactly the same thing."