Chapter 5

Dear Padfoot,

It's getting colder here. Winter is definitely on the way. In spite of being back at Hogwarts I feel more alone than ever. There is one other here who seems to know how I feel but I know nothing of her. She is more of a mystery than you could ever imagine. Having someone who understands me but will tell me nothing of herself or how to handle it just seems to add to the loneliness. I write to you because I know you of all people will understand.

Musa watched Harry walk up a hill and decided that she will protect this child who seems all alone in the world, she will try to be there for him whenever she can. Then Musa turned and walk into the forbidden forest. After walking for a while Musa come across a clearing full of skeleton looking horses. After looking around Musa realise Luna is standing barefoot next to one feeding it raw meat.

"Luna?"

"Hello Musa."

"Your feet, aren't they cold?" She looked at her feet before responding.

"A bit. Unfortunately all my shoes have mysteriously disappeared. I suspect Nargles are behind it."

Musa frowned, decently sure that it wasn't magical creatures taking her things but something much more human, but Musa brushed the thought aside and looked up at the horse thing Luna had been feeding, "What are they?

"They're called thestrals. Gentle creatures really, but most people avoid them because they're a bit..."

"Different." Musa finished her sentence before reaching out and petting one. It responded by nuzzling it's nose into my hand. She threw a piece of dead meat to a baby thestral. And watched it for a while before turning and walking off quietly.

A few days later...

Musa laughed at Ron stuffing his face. Hermione just shook her head in disgust.

"Don't you ever stop eating?"

"What, I'm hungry!"

Harry walked over to his three friends at the breakfast table and opened his mouth to say hi when Professor Umbridge's voice echoed from the hallway loudly.

"Pardon me, what exactly are you insinuating?!"

The group looked amongst each other then followed everyone else into the hall to see Umbridge and Mcgonagall arguing on the stairs.

"I'm only requesting that when it comes to my students you stick to the prescribed disciplinary practices."

"So silly of me, but it sounds like you're questioning my authority in my own classroom."

Umbridge stepped up one stair to be higher than Mcgonagall and continued in a harsh tone,

"Minerva."

"Not at all Dolores," Mcgonagall takes a step up also to be on the same step as she spits out the woman's name in disgust..

"merely your medieval methods."

"I am sorry dear but to question my practices is to question the ministry and by extension the minister himself! I am a tolerant woman but the one thing I will not stand for is disloyalty."

Mcgonagall backed down a step, eyes wide and quietly nodded, 'Disloyalty..." confusion and hurt echoed in her shocked whisper.

Umbridge stepped up another stair and turned to us instead of Mcgonagall.

"Things at Hogwarts are much worse than I feared! Cornelius will want to take immediate action!"

Then she turned and walked away. Most kids went back to eating breakfast but we stood in the hall a moment. Musa broke the silence first.

"What kind of bull is this?" Everyone nodded and started walking down the hall. After a few days Harry, Hermione, and Musa came across Filch on a ladder hammering a sign in the wall. Dolores Jane Umbridge Has Been Appointed To The Post Of Hogwart's High Inquisitor.

HPWCHPWCHPWCHPWC

From that point on during classes Umbridge came in classes and questioned teachers.

The first time Musa personally saw her do it was during potions.

"You tried first at the Defense Against the Dark Arts post?"

"Yes" Snape curtly replied to her refusing to look Umbridge in the face.

"But that failed?" Umbridge's voice echoed with amusement and satisfaction.

"Obviously." Snape drawled his answer slowly, as if the woman was too slow to understand, almost making Musa laugh but she quickly distracted herself with her potion, restraining herself to a snicker.

"Shame."

Ron started giggling at Snape's obvious misery and disgust with the situation with the despicable women but as soon as Umbridge left he whacked Ron in the head with a book shutting him up. There was rumor she had dared to measured Professor Flitwick's height, further proof of the women's lack of self preservation, and that her questioning of Professor Trelawny didn't go to well.

After class the group walked into the hall and saw all the students hurrying out towards the north courtyard by the main bridge out of Hogwarts grounds. Harry ran up to a girl and asked what was going on, she shook her head before replying, "It's Professor Trelawny!"

The four followed the group of students out to see Professor Trelawney in the courtyard surrounded by her suitcases. Then Umbridge walked briskly into the courtyard. Poor Trelawney looked about in tears.

"P..p..please don't make me go! Hogwarts is my home..You...You can't do this!"

Umbridge just smiled before replying, "Actually I can." Finally Professor Mcgonagall pushed through the students and hurried over pulling the crying Trelawney into a hug and looking at Umbridge. Umbridge's grin did not stop, "Is there something you would like to say?" Mcgonagall's scottish accent rang strongly in her angry reply,

"Oh there are several things I would like to say." Then turned to comfort Trelawney as the great doors opened, this time leading to the entrance of an angry but composed Dumbledore.

"Professor Mcgonagall would you please escort Sybil back inside?"

Umbridge looked shaken at aura of power radiating from the old wizard, but spoke again. "Dumbledore have you forgotten that by the act passed by the ministry that," Dumbledore finished for her, "You have the right to dismiss my teachers, however you do NOT have the right to banish them from the grounds. That power remains for the headmaster." She glared at him for a second, "For now." And walked back inside.

Harry rushed after Dumbledore but couldn't catch up. Musa walked up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry about it. He's just got a lot going on, I'm sure it's not personal."

He turned around on her,

"How would you know?! You barely know him! You're only here because you happened to stop me from using the patronus curse. If it wasn't for that coincidence you wouldn't even know him! I'm the one he laid on the doorstep as a baby! That got a letter at eleven..." He stopped shocked at himself for a second reigning in his burst of anger,

"I'm sorry Musa I shouldn't have said that I'm just being stupid..." He turned to walk away and Musa grabbed his shoulder again.

"I know how you feel but you can't keep pushing everyone away! You need me just like you need Hermione and Ron." Then she walked away. She knew he was shocked and didn't have to look back to know he was watching her walk away.

Musa cursed at herself in her head, 'Stupid, Stupid, Stupid. I know what it's like to have people think they understand. STUPID! I should have just left him alone...'

HPWCHPWCHPWCHPWC

"That Foul Foul Cockroach! We're not learning how to defend ourselves, we're not learning how to pass our owls, she's taking over the entire school!"

Ron, Harry, and Musa were sitting on the couch in the common room watching Hermione pace back and forth. The radio was playing and announcing that mysterious disappearances were being blamed on Sirius Black. Musa glared at the radio, she liked Sirius! He wasn't a serial killer! Why couldn't they get that through their heads! Musa grabbed the radio and threw it across the room smashing it to pieces against a wall.

"Harry!"

Harry hurried over and kneeled in front of the fireplace. Ron, Hermione and Musa joined him by the fireplace. Harry spoke up to the face in the fireplace,

'Sirius! What are you doing here?"

"Answering your letter of course! You said you were worried about Umbridge. What's she doing? Training you to kill half-breeds?"

Hermione leaned forward and spoke,

"She not teaching us anything! She won't even let us use magic!"

"Not a surprise, the word is Fudge doesn't want you trained in combat."

Musa rolled her eyes and muttered under breath, "He's a little too late to stop me..." The other three didn't seem to notice but Harry glanced at her with a frown.

Ron replied this time, "Combat? What? Does he think we're forming some sort of army?"

"That's exactly what he thinks. That Dumbledore is assembling his forces to take on the Ministry. The others wouldn't want me to tell you this Harry but things with the order are not going well. The mysterious disappearances are just how it started before. Voldemort is on the move."

Suddenly the entrance door creaked.

"Shh... someone's coming. I hate to say it but for now you're on your own. Remember why you're there Musa. And Harry don't trust anyone not here in this conversation at this very second. Good luck."

And then Sirius disappeared.

Hermione stood up. "He really is out there..." Musa nodded her head and spoke too, "We've got to be able to defend ourselves, and if Umbridge refuses to teach us how we need to find someone who will." Hermione and Ron looked back and forth between Harry and Musa. Musa raised an eyebrow. Harry and Musa looked at each other with sorrowful eyes both not wanting to have to lead other kids to be able to do what they had been through but knowing they had to so that they would make it through.

The next day the four headed down to Hogsmeade and into a very empty pub. "Who all are we meeting with?"

Hermione didn't look at the other three but spoke, "Just a few people.'

Ten minutes later, a lot more than a few people had filed in and Hermione started the meeting.

"Hi. We all know why we're here. We need a teacher, a proper teacher. One who's had real experience defending themselves against the dark arts." A kid sitting in the front interrupted Hermione,

"Why?"

Ron looked at the kid like an he was a total idiot, "Why? Because you-know-who is back you ninny."

"Or so he says" The kid gestured towards Harry who stayed quiet. Hermione replied.

"Or so Dumbledore says."

"So Dumbledore says because he says. The point is where's the proof?"

A different kid spoke up quieter than the last.

"If Potter could tell us more about how Diggory got killed..."

Finally Harry stood up with a sigh. "I'm not going to talk about Cedric so if that's why you're here you might as well clear out now." He started whispering to Hermione and then turned to leave when Luna spoke up and Musa smiled, "Is it true you can produce a Patronus Charm?"

Harry didn't speak but Hermione stood a little taller and answered Luna's question,

"Yes. I've seen it."

A mixed kid that had been quiet till now looked at Harry with admiration.

"Blimey Harry! I didn't know you could do that..."

This got Neville started. "And he.. he killed a basilisk! With the sword in Dumbledore's office!" Ginny spoke too, "It's true! He saved me from it!"

Ron was next, "And he fought about 100 dementor's at once." Hermione spoke again, "And last year he really did fight off you-know-who in the flesh."

Harry stopped this all, "Wait. Look it all sounds great when you say it like that but the truth is most of that was just luck. I didn't know what I was doing half the time and I always had help."

Hermione interrupted him, "He's just being modest"

"No Hermione. I'm not. Facing this stuff in real life is not like school. In school if you make a mistake you can just try again tomorrow. But out there when you're a second away from being murdered or watching a friend die right before your eyes. You... don't know what that's like."

Then Harry sat down. Musa looked at him for a second.

"He's right you know. I've gone through it too and I've seen my friends put through things when they are about to see me die or I see them almost die, and its real life, and when one of us does die? It's devastating." Then I sat down too.

Hermione sat down too.

"You two are right. That's why we need your help. Because if we want any chance of beating... Voldemort we need help."

The kid who started the argument spoke up, "He's really back?" Harry just nodded.

Everyone in the room signed up for what we decided to call Dumbledore's Army.

Harry smiled and we all left. Ginny, Neville, Luna and the four of us who started it were walking over the bridge back to school. "Alright first thing we need to find somewhere we can practice where Umbridge won't find out." Ginny suggested the shrinking shack but Harry said no, "It's too small."

Then Ginny spoke up again. "What if Umbridge does find out?"

"Who cares!" Hermione's face was red with excitement when she said that. "It's kind of exciting! Breaking the rules..."

Musa rolled her eyes and Ron joked, "Who are you and what have you done with Hermione Granger?

The next day we walked into the hall to see Filch nailing up another sign.

All Student Organizations Are Henceforth Disbanded, Any Student In Noncompliance Will Be Expelled.

Musa shook my head and walked away by herself when she came across a hall no one was in. She kept walking planning to go to the Gryffindor common room to tell Harry about the 68th Educational decree when she heard a noise. Msa turned and saw part of the wall changing into a huge door, and it opened showing a large empty room. She spun and ran to the commons room where she told Harry, Ron, and Hermione immediately.

"You've done it Musa! You've found the Room of Requirement! The room of requirements only appears when a person has real need of it. And is always equipped for the seeker's needs."

Ron, being the wierdo, had to make his own example."Say if you really needed a toilet?"

Hermione shook her head at Ron's example. "Charming Ronald but yes. That's the general idea."

"It's like Hogwarts wants us to fight back" Harry smiled at Musa's comment as they stood staring at the huge room.

WCHPWCHPWCHPWCHPWCHPWCHPWCHPWCHP

Lessons from Harry went pretty well! Musa mastered the spells in a couple of days thanks to her extensive magical background so she helped Harry with teaching most spells, especially the Patronus charm. Filch and some Slytherins had been trying for a while to catch the DA in their lessons but had yet to succeed. Musa was beginning to feel as at home as she did at Alfea. Until another one of those dreams came.

Musa went to bed happy and feeling safe and calm here.

"Night Hermione! Oh and good job with your patronus charm today! It was beautiful! I have to admit I didn't expect your patronus to be an otter!"

Hermione just blushed and quietly thanked Musa before going to sleep. Then Musa fell asleep and it all started to fall apart.

A snake! There's a snake attacking!

I try to run toward Mr Weasley to help him but I can't move, I can't look away!

Get up please!

His eyes flicked to mine for a second before he fell unconscious.

Musa shot up in bed covered in sweat. There was no way that was a normal nightmare! Mr. Weasley's in danger! She turn to climb out of bed and saw Hermione sitting up in bed watching her and grimaced before speaking.

"Don't bother telling me to go back to sleep, I know this is not nothing. You were screaming and glowing in your sleep. You need to see Dumbledore."

Musa nodded and she climbed out of bed and helped Musa down to the common area when the pair heard another scream in the recognizing that voice as Harry. Musa pushed Hermione's supportive hand off and stumbled up the stairs to the boy's dorms. She reached Harry's room and burst through to see Ron trying to wake Harry up. She ran over to him as Harry threw a punch at Ron in his sleep in a panicked state. Musa grabbed Harry's arms and pinned them down.

"Harry you need to wake up! It's not a dream! We need to get Dumbledore now! Do it for Ron and all the other Weasleys!"

Ron gave me a shocked look not getting what she was saying but Musa thought she could pretty much guarantee the same dream was happening to Harry as what happened to her. He sat up in bed and Musa held him while he gasped for air. Then Musa had Ron help get Harry down to the common room. When the trio got there Hermione ran over and took Musa's place next to Harry knowing she wouldn't be able to support him since she could barely stay on her feet right now. Musa took off running barefoot down the stairs of Hogwarts and got Professor Mcgonagall who rushed with Harry to Dumbledore's office.

Musa fell to her knees the minute the group got to Dumbledore's office. She grabbed her head and screamed out in immense pain. She kept screaming as a picture appeared in her head. It was a man with slits for a nose,and bony fingers. He looked a lot like a snake. He looked at Musa curiously with an evil grin. "You my dear are quite different.. What exactly are you?" He grinned wider as she managed to force him out of her head. Musa gasped for air and opened her eyes. She was back in Dumbledore's office. Mcgonagall was holding Musa gently in a hug and Dumbledore was running portrait to portrait with messages for them to deliver. Harry was talking but Dumbledore didn't seem to be listening. Finally Harry snapped everyone flinched,

"LISTEN TO ME!" He seemed to calm down a little bit when Dumbledore looked at him. I thought he was going to burst into tears right then and there.

"What's wrong with me?" Right then Snape hurriedly walked in. "You called for me Dumbledore?"

Dumbledore seemed sad as he spoke, "It's Harry..." Snape nodded and grabbed Harry's arm to lead him out. When the pain hit Musa again. Mcgonagall had just started helping her off the floor when she fell back to the ground and pulled herself into the fetal position whimpering in pain. His face kept appearing in her head laughing. Musa screamed out loud at the man, "GET OUT OF MY HEAD GAHHHHH" Finally the pain stopped and Musa just laid on the floor gasping for air until Snape grabbed her arm firmly but gently and led her along with Harry to a small room.

For hours Snape pushed Harry to the limit. He used a spell and entered his mind as the darklord apparently was doing to him. The one time he tried the spell on Musa she filled his mind with loud rap music. He kicked her out of the room then apparently after a while Harry used the spell on Snape and got kicked out of the room.

After Musa got kicked out she went to her dorm and sat in the window sill fighting headaches and images the dark lord was sending her. She was proud that she never let the dark lord through her wall and her secret was safe, but she was more worried about what he would find in Harry's memory. Granted what he did know wasn't that useful of information but it was still more than the Voldemort needed to know. Finally the pain stopped and Musa collapsed falling out of the window sill onto the floor from exhaustion she laid there about ten minutes until Hermione came in the door and saw her. She helped Musa up and took her to the grandhall despite it being past curfew. Hermione sat her down and went to the kitchen to get some food.

The two girls chatted for awhile about school while Musa ate some food that the house elves had prepared at their request. Finally they ran out of things to say and just sat in silence. After a few minutes Hermione turned to look at Musa curiously for a minute.

"What is it that makes you so different? How do you pick up spells so quickly and what is it you've been through?"Musa sat silent for a second.

"At my old school we had another rival school that had three witches that were really evil to the core. They attacked my friend Stella mistakenly thinking she had a power called the Dragon flame. When they found out she didn't they left us alone. Until they discovered Bloom actually had the dragon flame intertwined with her soul. Then they came and froze her before taking the flame. With the flame's power they attacked us. It ended up in a full out war. We won eventually but not without a cost. Anyways that was our first time we had to fight in real battle. After that several others attacked us. Either for Bloom's dragonflame or just to prove something. I'm not sure. We ended up in several battles. The most recent one claimed Nabu, my friend Layla's fiance's, life."

Hermione gazed at Musa sadly for a moment before pulling her into a hug. "I'm sorry that you transferred schools only to get stuck in another war... But I'm glad you didn't just try to avoid the war and stepped up to fight. We need you." Musa smiled and hugged Hermione back.

"Maybe sometime you can meet my friends or maybe I'll tell you more stories."

"What a sweet moment." Musa and Hermione turned towards the voice and found Draco Malfoy sneering at them from a few feet away having just arrived. Musa's eyes narrowed as she glared at Malfoy. He walked towards them. Musa instinctively moved her body in front of Hermione's. Causing Malfoy to snicker.

"Protective are we? Well you can relax. I'm just here for you. I would like to challenge you to a duel." Musa raised her eyebrow. "Is this because of my insulting your hair? I'm really sorry but maybe you should just stop dying it and wash it once in awhile!" Hermione snickered as Malfoy seemed to almost snarl at Musa.

"It's to prove that you're not as amazing as you think you are." Musa pretended to think about it before responding. "Sure, I'll duel you but I assure you I don't think I'm any more amazing than I truly am. The real question is how amazing do you think I am?" Somehow despite Musa thinking it wasn't possible Malfoy's seemed to scowl even more.

"Tonight, 10 p.m. by the shrinking shack. You better be there." Malfoy spun on his heel and stomped out of the hall. Musa's smile faded and she looked sadly after him. Before turning back to Hermione.

"Well that was interesting.." Hermione's eye were wide.

"Are you sure that was a good idea?! Draco is rumored to be one of the best duelers in the school because of his skills in bending rules and being sneaky! No to mention being raised by a known death eater!" Musa raised an eyebrow at Hermione before turning and walking away. On her way out Musa turned her head.

"You can't believe everything you hear. Until you get up close and personal with someone, who's to say you're not just getting to know the them they want you to know? Think that through and then talk to me about Malfoy. But for now just understand I will duel him no matter what you say." Then she left.