So daddy said we can go searching for crumple-horned snorkacks over break! And I'm going to help him with his investigation on a wrackspurt infestation in the ministry" Luna said excitedly. We were sitting at our end of the Ravenclaw table, discussing our plans for Christmas break. "Are you doing anything exciting?" she asked me. I shook my head and speared my sausage with my fork. It is the same swirly one I have been using since I first found it.
"We have defense against the dark arts first period" I said, looking up at the head table. Professor Umbridge looked more like a toad than any human being had the right to, and she had the personality to match. I suppose I shouldn't judge other people's personalities considering I have ever only managed to retain one friend. We stood to leave and I was immediately knocked over by something. I looked up to see a blond, pointed face sneering at me. "Well, well, well, if it isn't Loony Lovegood and her loony little friend. Did I knock you over? I'm so sorry" "I don't really think you're sorry, in fact I think you meant to do that," Luna said. Draco snorted, "oh please, like I would ever willingly touch a filthy little mudblood". I grabbed my books and pushed past him, waiting for Luna to meet me at the entrance to the hall. Draco seemed to get increasingly frustrated while Luna was as calm as ever. It was actually quite amusing to watch.
Defense against the dark arts has always been an interesting subject for me. While in other classes like transfiguration or charms I could sit in the back and pretend to be doing magic, in this class I actually had to face other students. Usually Luna was my partner, and she was nice enough to block the magic I wasn't doing so it seemed like I was actually attacking her with something other than forceful wan movements. However, this year has been particularly interesting because while I haven't had to attempt any magic, I have had to put up with the most pathetic excuse for a teacher I have ever met.
Today, like most days, she told everyone to put their wands away. While this gave me a rush of relief, Ginny Weasley decided to stand up and complain about how not knowing defense would hurt us in the future. "And why, Miss Weasley, would you need to know how to use defensive spells?" she asked in a voice that could crack diamonds. "Because You-Know-Who is back and I want to be prepared!" she bellowed. "20 points from Gryffindor, and I will see you in detention" Umbridge said and sat down, satisfied.
"Idiot," I mumbled under my breath. Umbridge had remarkable hearing apparently, and snapped her head towards me. "What was that?" she asked, her face starting to turn pink. "I said you're an idiot" I said. "And why is that Miss Heersay? Do you believe in these lies as well?" I put down my book, having nearly finished it for the third time, and said "I'm not going to make a judgment on whether You-Know-Who is back or not because I simply have no evidence, but it is idiotic to believe that he is the only dark wizard that would hurt children. If her were, Azkaban would be completely empty. Regardless of whether the most evil wizard known is alive or not, there are still many people in the world that would want to hurt us and we should have the opportunity to be prepared." The rest of the class looked at me in shock; it was the first time I have ever spoken in class. Professor Umbridge looked at me and smirked, despite having been successfully told off by a 14 year old. "Well Miss Heersay, judging by your past records in this class I'm surprised you feel so strongly about being able to perform actual magic, perhaps you would like to demonstrate something one of your other teachers have taught you?" The rest of the class looked shocked again, and Ginny seemed outraged that I would be the first to perform magic in the class. Luckily for me, it was time to leave. I ran out as quickly as I could but not before I heard, "and 10 points from Ravenclaw for disrespecting a teacher".
I was standing in the hallway waiting for Luna, when Ginny Weasley came up to me. "Hey, thanks for sticking up for me back there, Beth, right?" I nodded and said, "I wasn't sticking up for you, I just think she is an idiot and needs to be taken down a notch or eight". She seemed as though she didn't know whether to laugh or be offended, but said, "What did the old toad mean by your past marks in the class?" I just shook my head and said that it was private. She nodded. I couldn't tell whether she understood that people had secrets or simply didn't care enough to pry, but she told me that some of her friends were working on taking Umbridge down a few pegs as well and invited me to join what they were calling 'Dumbledore's Army'. I said I would think about it. By that time Luna glided over to us and we walked to our next class.
My tutoring sessions with Neville have been going well for the past few weeks. He was really improving his potions work during our sessions. He says it is because I don't make him as nervous as Professor Snape does so he can concentrate. However I haven't made any progress in the magic department. I was exploding things more often but that might have been frustration. It did remind me that I wasn't a squib though, which I suppose was a relief.
Since I didn't need to berate Neville as often about his potion skills, we have actually gotten to talking during our sessions. It wasn't as much of a two-sided conversation as him stuttering over his words and me nodding or giving short responses. It was the most human interaction I have every had aside from my parents and Luna though, so I would take what I could get. "So a friend of mine told me you stood up for her today during Defense" he said. "I didn't defend her, the Professor was being stupid so I told her so". "Do you believe that he's back?" he asked. I shrugged and said, "I don't know, I was taught not to believe something unless it could be backed up by conclusive evidence". "But Harry says he saw him." Neville replied. "I don't know him well enough to judge his trustworthiness I suppose, and besides one man's word doesn't count as conclusive evidence in my opinion". "He is a real great guy," Neville said, "He started this thing called Dumbledore's Army so we could learn the magic that Umbridge doesn't want to teach us. It's why I got so good this year. Hey, you should come to our meetings, I'm sure it would help you too" I shook my head and said, "No thanks, I'm not up for embarrassing myself in front of half of the school". "You won't embarrass yourself, I could barely disarm someone when I started and when I finally did it everybody cheered and they were al really happy for me." I just turned away and grabbed the ingredients for an aging potion. "Do you have any plans for the holiday?" he asked while I juggled beetles and snakeskins in my arms. "I will be going home to my parents" I said in reply. "Are they muggles?" he asked. I nodded and said "My mom is a neurobiologist and my dad is a physicist" I expected him to be impressed but he just looked at me shocked. Then I remembered that he has never heard of either of those things. "My mom studies how the brain works, like what makes people think certain things, and my dad looks at the way the world works. Or how it is supposed to work". When he looked at me in confusion I said, "What we do defies everything he spent his entire life studying. I swear he nearly gave up his career to be a juggler when he found out magic exists." "Why?" Neville asked, "it's wicked!" I sighed. "Because his entire life's work depends on the world acting in a certain way, and that way doesn't allow for people to fly on broomsticks or for tables to turn into rats or anything of that sort, and it messed with him". "I guess that would not be fun, finding out everything you thought was right was wrong" he said. I nodded. "What about you? Do you have any plans?" He lowered his head and said "I think I will just be staying home with my gran, that's what I usually do" I nodded, not particularly caring. Neville finished the potion only an hour later than he should have, and it was only slightly off-color. Once again I tried to clean up my side of the room, and once again I was proven unable to do so. "Listen, I have detention with the toad now so I can't help with you out tonight, but you should really think about going to a DA meeting" I nodded absently, grabbing up my books. He continued, "No really, I think it could really help you, and I promise nobody would laugh at you". "They laugh at you" I replied, "Only some of them" he said, blushing, "and those people don't matter to me, they are dumb pricks, just promise me you'll think about it?" I nodded and left her room.
I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask Luna about this Army everybody enjoys so much.