Chapter 9: Dumbledore's Army
It was right after his last class, Defense Against the Dark Arts, on a Wednesday afternoon when it happened.
Wally was chatting with Charles up ahead, so Nigel was left to his own thoughts for a while. For the past few weeks, he and Lizzie had started to talk to each other more when everyone else was looking elsewhere.
Although they were both ashamed to admit to their friends that they were actually enjoying each other's company, they didn't mind. Charms class was definitely his favorite class ever since then.
Lizzie turned out to be a heavy sorter. She had told him once that she wasn't fit for Hufflepuff, she neglected Gryffindor, much to his dismay, and that the hat had been debating between Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Wanting to impress her family, she asked for Slytherin, so she would carry on the Divine's legacy.
He was so distracted by this memory, however, that he didn't notice another Gryffindor just a year older than him blocking his way. He accidentally bumped into her and apologized before he tried to continue his way.
The girl didn't step aside, just stood there with her arms crossed. She had shoulder-length dark blonde hair and big brown eyes. He had seen her before, but he couldn't recall her name.
"Your Nigel Uno, correct?" she asked, her gaze demanding an answer, even if her words didn't.
"Yeah, so?" he replied, staring blankly back at her.
"Follow me," she ordered, spinning around and heading in the opposite direction.
Nigel didn't want to know what would happen if he disobeyed, so he just went along with it, following in the older girl's footsteps.
They walked for about ten minutes, in complete silence the whole time. Some students stared, since it looked a lot like he was being taken somewhere, probably to detention or something.
Soon though, the pair stopped in front of one of the walls of the castle. This specific part of the wall, though, was especially worn out for some reason. Nigel looked around, but the girl didn't move, and no one else came along either.
He waited for another while, then couldn't help but ask, "Um, what are we doing here?"
The girl smirked mischievously in a way that reminded him of Abby.
"We're waiting for Maurice," she answered, then went back to staring at the wall.
Nigel didn't ask anything else, yet his mind was full to the brim with questions, especially when a dark-skinned boy revealed himself when he rounded the corner, Abby, Hoagie, and another Ravenclaw first year with buck teeth and orange hair closely following. He thought that he had seen an extra shadow, but they were the only ones.
"Nigel?" Hoagie exclaimed in surprise, glancing at him and then at the boy who he assumed was Maurice.
Nigel shrugged, turning to take a closer look at Maurice. He was probably in his fourth year at Hogwarts since he was pretty tall, and some parts of his robes were embroidered in yellow, so he had a feeling he was in Hufflepuff.
"I didn't expect you to bring him this early, Rachel," he said as he aproached, Abby and Hoagie being as confused as ever.
Rachel shrugged. "I decided to do it sooner than later. Chad's already in with the Hufflepuff candidates, so let's not keep them waiting, shall we?"
Maurice nodded and both he and Rachel scrunched up their faces in concentration. Abby narrowed her eyes down at them, but didn't question. Hoagie and Nigel found it odd too, but they were interrupted by a noise coming from behind them.
To their amazement, a door had appeared in the wall. It had been bare before, but now, Rachel opened the door and ushered them inside.
Nigel followed cautiously, Hoagie, Abby, and the other kid behind him. He couldn't help but awe at the sight.
The room was lit by a series of torches on the walls that emitted beautiful blue flames, and the room was crowded with students of all ages and houses, although there were only a couple of Slytherins here and there.
The room was extremely large, much bigger than it looked from outside. There were bookshelves all over, and cardboard boxes were piled high in some corners. Everyone was busy, wether they were doing homework or working on some kind of spell. Others were discussing serious matters in the far corners away from the others.
"Okay, stick together because it's always like this at the beggining of the year. The meeting should be called in about a few minutes and we might get stuck in traffic," Maurice instructed, making a single file line.
Sure enough, when they were halfway to wherever they were going, a booming voice resounded throughout the room.
"All DA members please report to the assembly hall for our annual recruitment ceremony," it announced.
At that moment, swarms of people crowded around. It was so packed that he had to hold hands with Rachel and Abby so as not to get lost.
After a couple of minutes, the people started to clear up as they neared a different chamber within the room where a grand stage awaited. Rows of benches surrounded it, kids taking seats wherever it was available. However, Rachel lead them elsewhere, most likely backstage.
Nigel was right, and was surprised to see Virginia, one of Kuki's friends, and two other Hufflepuff boys already there with the Slytherin boy they had pranked on the Hogwarts Express.
The boy caught his eye and frowned. "Please don't tell me your friend is here too."
He shook his head, but realized too late that he was speaking ill of Wally.
"I see you and Chad have met," Maurice teased, trying to lighten up the mood.
Chad ignored him and looked away.
Virginia suddenly stomped her foot on the ground, hard.
"Can someone stop it with all the secrecy and tell us where in heck we actually are?!" she asked, even though it sounded more like a demand.
Chad smirked and crossed his arms.
"Of course. You're in Dumbledore's Army."