Hey everyone!
Finally the new chapter is out. I'm sorry for the long wait, but schools really getting to me. (I know, a standart execuse but the truth!)
Thanks for all the Reviews and on that note. It's really important that you read the Author's note at the bottom this time!
I need your help!
So then, enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 23
Silence.
Harry raised his eyebrows when the people in the Room of Requirement quieted down as soon as he had greeted them. This was definitely new.
He felt Draco shuffling behind him. 'Okay… they're either very anxious to start learning, or just have a hell of a lot of respect for you!'
With a shake of his head Harry let his eyes wander over each person. A small smile tugged at his lips when he saw Blaise standing near the door with Daphne, who had her hand on the shoulder of her sister Astoria. Standing next to her was Theodore Nott with a mildly interested look on his face.
"As I said, welcome to our first meeting," Harry said once more. "If you decide to stay a part of this group, this'll be the room where our practice sessions will take place. And…," he smirked when he saw that most were still looking around in awe, "… you obviously like it."
"It's fantastic!" said Cho, and several people murmured their agreement.
Fred just shook his head. "It's bizarre. I never would've thought that this room could be used for more than-"
George elbowed his twin in the side before he could say any more and threw Harry an apologetic look.
"Hey, Harry, what's this stuff?" asked Dean suddenly from the rear of the room, indicating the Sneakoscopes that were on a desk.
"Dark detectors," said Harry, chuckling slightly that they were here, and stepping between the group to reach them. All of the objects suddenly started buzzing when he stood in front of them.
He couldn't hide his smirk anymore and even Neville chuckled when the Sneakoscopes couldn't seem to decide where to point. They finally settled on Draco and Harry.
"Basically they show when Dark wizards or enemies are around," continued Harry, "but you don't want to rely on them too much, they can be fooled… "
He gazed over his shoulder and saw the others nod in understanding. All except Blaise, who looked him straight in the eye and then gave a slight nod.
"Well then, I guess I don't have to explain what we'll be teaching you-"He noticed a raised hand. "Yes?"
"I think we ought to have a name," said Ginny brightly. "Something that bonds us together as a group."
"Can we be the Anti-Umbridge League?" Angelina asked hopefully.
Harry snorted.
"Or the Ministry of Magic are Morons Group?" suggested Fred chuckling.
"I like it," whispered Ron in Harry's ear.
Hermione took a step forward and Harry saw she had a frown on her face. "What about a name that doesn't tell everyone what we're up to, so we can refer to it safely outside the meetings?"
"The Defense Association?" said Cho. "The D.A. for short, so nobody knows what we're talking about?"
"Yeah, the D. A.'s good," said Ginny. "Only let's make it stand for Dumbledore's Army, because that's the Ministry's worst fear, isn't it?"
"How's that?" asked Terry with a frown.
Draco sighed in exasperation. "I don't know how the weaselette caught wind of it, but she's right," Ginny threw him a nasty look at that and he shrugged. "The Ministry believes Dumbledore wants the Minister's job."
"Anyway," said Ginny as she gave Draco another dirty look. "I think Dumbledore's Army is a good name."
There was a good deal of appreciative murmuring at this, but Harry stepped forward.
"No," he said calmly and everybody looked at him.
"Why not?" asked several people at once.
He rolled his eyes. "What do you think happens if someone finds out about our group?"
"Um… we'll be in trouble?" suggested Hannah after a while.
Harry started to answer when Nott gave a snort and looked at Hannah like she was crazy. "If we're going around, calling ourselves the army of our headmaster, we're screwed. Should we be discovered, not only we will be in trouble, but Dumbledore will be as well."
"Good point," said Susan Bones.
"Has anybody got a better suggestion?" Terry asked looking around.
Lee Jordan chuckled. "How about Harry's Army then?"
Harry feigned hurt. "Do you want me to rot in Azkaban, my dear Lee? If we're discovered I can say goodbye to any happy feelings."
Several people laughed, but Harry felt his friends shifting uncomfortably and he could feel the tension in the air around them.
'They don't have a clue how true that is…' Draco's voice spoke in his head.
Harry shook his head and looked at his watch. "Can we talk about our name later? I'd like to get started on training now," he waited a moment until he had everyone's attention again and smirked. "Well then… I want you to pay attention. First I want to see what level everyone is at." He could almost feel the collective groan from the room's participants and he smothered a grin.
"The first thing you'll be doing is the Expelliarmus... the Disarming Charm. And don't even try to argue about that," he added when several people opened their mouth to protest against such an easy charm. "I don't want to see anyone of you doing another charm until I say so. Is that clear?"
"Yes!" they chorused and Harry admitted that it felt slightly weird that they were all following his orders.
"Then let's divide into pairs and start. After that I want to clear some things up."
Immediately everyone rushed around to get a good spot and Harry went back to his friends who hadn't moved.
He shook his head and turned around. "Right- on the count of three. One, two, three-"
The room was suddenly full of shouts of 'Expelliarmus.' Wands flew in all directions; missed spells hit trees and dummies.
He immediately smacked his hands over his face. "My eyes… oh Merlin! My ears! I'm scarred for life… that's just horrible…" he groaned and Ron patted him sympathetically on the back.
Glancing around, he knew that he had to strengthen the basics with them before they could really start any relevant training. There was a lot of shoddy spell work going on; many people were not succeeding in disarming their opponents at all, merely causing them to jump backwards a few paces or wince as their feeble spell whooshed over them.
"They're really… um… there's no word for it…" said Draco astonished when he had to dodge a stray-spell.
"Listen, guys, I think we really have to start from the beginning," sighed Harry. "That means we won't be able to train as much as we need to without using the-"
He stopped shortly and swiftly looked at Neville. They hadn't told him about the time-turner yet. "You know what I mean," he said then. "So... let's get going. We must have five groups at the end of this little lesson."
Harry moved off into the middle of the room, while his friends went in different directions to help the others. Something very odd was happening to Theodore Nott. Every time he opened his mouth to disarm Astoria Greengrass, his own wand would fly out of his hand, yet Astoria did not seem to be making a sound, just kept looking around with an annoyed expression.
Harry did not have to look far to solve the mystery: Fred and George were several feet from Nott and taking it in turns to point their wands at his back.
"Well, at least you're able to do the spell…" said Harry and they smiled sheepishly.
"Sorry, Harry," said George. "Couldn't resist."
Harry walked around the other pairs, trying to correct those who were doing the spell wrong. He shook his head. He really had expected them to do better than they were.
Ginny was paired with Michael Corner; she was doing very well, whereas Michael was either very bad or unwilling to jinx her.
Ernie was flourishing his wand unnecessarily, giving his partner time to get in under his guard; Colin Creevey, who was paired with Cho, was very enthusiastic but erratic and mainly responsible for all the damage to the room; Luna was similarly patchy, occasionally sending Justin Finch-Fletchley's wand spinning out of his hand, at other times merely causing his hair to stand on end.
"Okay, stop!" Harry shouted then and a loud bang came out of his wand. "Enough!"
Everyone lowered their wands.
"That was… well… I better not say anything…," said Harry, "but there's definite room for improvement." They all stared at him slightly disappointed. "Let's try again."
He moved off around the room again, stopping here and there to make suggestions. Slowly, the general performance improved.
"Oh no," said Cho rather wildly as he approached. "Expelliarmious! I mean, Expellimellius!! I - oh, sorry, Colin…"
The hyper Gryffindor's sleeve had caught fire; Colin extinguished it with his own wand rather unsuccessfully and beamed at Harry who shook his head when he put the fire out with a flick of his wand.
"You made me nervous, I was doing all right before then!" Cho told Harry ruefully.
"What was that?" asked Harry frowning and his eyes bored into hers, "I know that you can do better than that Cho. And there's really no need to be nervous around me. We're friends."
She laughed slightly embarrassed and looked down at the floor then. "Yeah… just friends…"
Harry tilted his head. "By the way, isn't it a little dangerous for you to be here?" he asked, trying to avoid talking about them as a possible couple, "Your parents are working in the Ministry, aren't they?"
"Well, my parents have forbidden me to get on the wrong side of Umbridge," said Cho, drawing herself up proudly. "But if they think I'm not going to fight You-Know-Who after what happened to Cedric -"
She broke off; looking rather confused, and fell silent. Terry's wand went whizzing past Harry's ear and hit Alicia Spinnet hard on the nose.
"Well, my dad's very supportive of any anti-Ministry action!" said Luna proudly from just behind Harry; evidently she had been eavesdropping on his conversation while Justin Finch-Fletchley attempted to disentangle himself from the robes that had flown up over his head.
"He's always saying he'd believe anything of Fudge; I mean, the number of goblins Fudge has had assassinated! And of course he uses the Department of Mysteries to develop terrible poisons, which he secretly feeds to anybody who disagrees with him. And then there's his Umgubular Slashkilter —"
"Don't ask," Harry muttered to Cho as she opened her mouth, looking puzzled. She giggled.
"So then... try again."
She nodded and Harry strolled over to Draco, who was leaning against a tree of the forest-copy. His face was calm, but Harry could see the wheels in his head turning.
"What's wrong, Dray?" asked Harry when a loud crash behind them told him that a desk must have been hit with a stray curse.
Draco sighed. "I'm just thinking about the groups we've planned to make. It's not easy to decide who we should put together. Not many of them will be suited to work with you and me as their teacher. I know it sounds a bit arrogant…"
Harry stretched his arms. "You're right. Before we can start to teach them some of the Dark Arts we have to practice the light spells with them. But Ron, Hermione and Neville are more suited for that."
Draco nodded. "That they are…" he looked at Harry. "Should we separate the groups like we planned before? With the things I've seen… we guessed fairly well. If something doesn't work out we can change it later."
Harry nodded and raised his wand. A loud bang startled all of the students and Harry grinned while they went to a small desk near the door, where Hermione, Neville and Ron were already waiting.
"So guys, the second time wasn't too bad and we have the groups ready." He waved his wand and a piece of parchment and a quill appeared on the small desk. Hermione immediately went to work.
"Okay. Just so you know, we can always change the groups later if problems arise."
"How will we be taught when we're in groups?" asked Hannah Abbot.
Harry smiled at her. "There'll be five groups, each one with five people. Each group will be taught by one of us... Neville, Ron, Hermione, Draco or me. And there will be no arguments about which group will be taught by whom."
He looked at Hermione. "Ready to let the quill fly?" she nodded and Harry turned back to the crowd. "First, the group that will be taught by Neville is Justin, Hannah, Ernie, Terry and Parvati."
Hermione wrote the names down and Harry was satisfied that no one had anything to say about the arrangement. "Next, the group taught by Ron will consist of Colin, Michael, Anthony, Astoria and Lavender. In Hermione's group will be Daphne, Angelina, Cho, Padma and Dean."
He waited for Hermione to catch up before continuing. "Draco'll be teaching Fred, George, Lee, Katie and Alicia. And last but not least, I'll be teaching Blaise, Ginny, Luna, Theodore and Susan."
He waited, and when nobody objected, smiled in satisfaction. "Good. Maybe we'll find a name for each group later, so that it'll be easier to refer to a single group. Now on to the last matter for today. The name of our whole group. Has anyone thought of a suitable one?"
There was a brief silence.
"How about Hogwarts Army?" asked a dreamy voice and Harry's head snapped around to Luna, who was sitting on a cushion near a training-dummy. "But… like our groups, you five should have a name so that we can refer to you more quickly."
He tilted his head and looked at Luna who was seemingly distracted staring around the room. "And what did you have in mind?"
"Why, the Phoenix Squad, of course," she replied dreamily. "That's what you should be known as."
Suddenly Harry and his four friends where on high alert. They all stared at Luna like she had grown a second head. Harry's eyes flashed to Draco and he knew that they all had the same thought.
He frowned and then looked at Hermione. She was in the same house as Luna after all.
"What gave you this idea?" asked Harry quietly after a short while.
Luna blinked and looked over to him. "Because the Phoenixes have risen again and are nearly ready to teach the Darkness fear. Also… the nargles seem to think it's a good idea…"
'Harry…,' he heard Hermione's unsure voice in his thoughts. 'I swear I haven't told her anything about our animagus forms!'
With a nod Harry turned his head away from the Ravenclaw fourth year. 'But then… how?'
'Do you think she knows something?' asked Ron and his voice sounded slightly uncomfortable.
'Jeez, weasel… it's obvious that she does!' answered Draco's voice.
"I think it's a good idea that you, Hermione, Draco, Neville and Ron have a separate name," said Padma. "You are the ones teaching us after all. So basically we'll have six groups."
Harry looked at Hermione, who was standing next to him. "This… is really a very good idea," she replied to his unasked question and looked at Neville, Draco and Ron. "So us five will be the Phoenix Squad then?"
Draco shrugged. "Fine by me."
Ron grinned. "Sounds good. I like it."
"It's fitting," replied Neville with a small smile.
"So we are the Phoenix Squad. Now, are there any other suggestions for the group's name, or are we the Hogwarts Army now?" asked Harry.
Some of the people started to whisper quietly and Harry patiently waited for them to finish.
"All in favor of the Hogwarts Army then? It can be H.A. for short." said Hermione and waited a short time before she started to count. "That's a majority - motion passed!"
Harry reached into his pocket and handed her the list with all the signatures on it and she pinned the piece of parchment onto the wall and wrote across the top in large letters:
*
Hogwarts Army
*
"Now that's settled," said Harry, "but we've overrun on time, we'd better leave it here. Same time same place next week?"
"Sooner!' said Dean Thomas eagerly and most nodded in agreement.
Angelina, however, said quickly. "Remember Quidditch, we need time to practice too!"
"Let's say next Wednesday night, then," said Harry, "we can decide on additional meetings then. Come on, you better get going."
He pulled out the Marauder's Map that he had brought with him and checked it carefully for signs of teachers on the seventh floor. He had them all leave in threes and fours, watching their tiny dots anxiously to see that they returned safely to their dormitories: the Hufflepuffs to the basement corridor that also led to the kitchens; the Ravenclaws to a tower on the west side of the castle, and the Gryffindors along the corridor to the Fat Lady's portrait, while the other Phoenixes just went outside and then disappeared.
"I don't know what to say…," said Hermione, when finally it was just her, Harry, Draco, Neville and Ron left.
"Yeah, they weren't very good, were they?" said Ron as they slipped out of the door and watched it melt back into stone behind them. "Did you see that some of them missed nearly every time, Harry?"
"This is going to take a while until we can start teaching them the real stuff," mumbled Draco and Harry had to agree whole-heartedly. "Anyway, I'm off to patrol. I believe Daphne is already waiting in the Entrance Hall. She was one of the first to leave."
"Yeah," said Harry and started pacing in front of the wall again. That was the disadvantage of the room. It took a lot of time to enter it. "I don't want to be rude, but I'm tired and think I'll go to bed early today."
"I just hope Umbridge doesn't find out about us…" sighed Hermione. "Was it really the right thing to do?"
Ron groaned. "Damn Hermione! It was your idea, so don't start with that now."
Harry slung his arms around Hermione and she gave a squeal of surprise at his sudden movement. "Well then, I'm off to bed then, but…" he smiled down at his girlfriend, "not without a kiss."
She chuckled and with a brilliant smile fulfilled his wish by giving him a soft kiss on the lips. "Good night, Professor Potter," she whispered. "Night Ron" she added and he snorted when she turned around and with a last smile for him vanished around the corner.
Ron stared after her and then sighed heavily. "I wish she would look at me the way she looks at you…"
"Mate," Harry eyed his friend. "You know what I told you, don't you?"
Ron nodded and looked at him sadly. "Yeah but… it's hard to let go. I… I had hoped to ask her out this year… even though I'm not sure if I really could've done it…"
With a sigh Harry opened the door, but stayed where he was. "You know Ron… I can imagine how you feel, but my word still stands. I hadn't realized that you had a crush on Hermione until I'd fallen for her myself. And that was – I think – shortly after the Yule Ball, last year. Even if I didn't know it then."
Ron tilted his head and Harry sighed. "Come on, in. We can talk more comfortably there."
They entered the Common Room and Harry smiled slightly when he saw his friend staring around the luxurious room in awe. Hannah, who was sitting at the fireplace together with Ernie, Padma and Terry, waved at him when she saw him and nodded to Ron, totally ignoring the fact that he wasn't supposed to be there.
Harry grabbed Ron's arm and guided him over to the bookshelves that were the farthest away from the others and softly pushed him into a chair. Then he sat down opposite him.
"So… Ron," said Harry, and the redhead sighed. "I know that you fancy Hermione and I understand that you don't want to give up on her," he smiled slightly. "I understand that very well. But I don't want to give up on her either."
Ron nodded and stared out of the nearest window. "Yeah… like I said, it's hard. I thought… I guess I should've made my move earlier… but it hurts. It hurts to see her so happy when… well, when she's with you."
Harry looked at Ron with narrowed eyes when his friend looked back at him. The redhead's eyes widened slightly.
"I didn't mean it like that." Ron said hastily and raised his hands. "I'm happy… for both of you. I realized that you of all people deserve to be happy. Don't look at me like that," he added when Harry raised his eyebrows. "Damn! Look, I know I can be a jealous prick, okay?"
Harry chuckled grimly, but nodded nonetheless. "Like last year with the Triwizard Tournament, when you refused to talk to me, because for you I was nothing but an attention seeking brat? Or during the holidays when you accused me of being a Death Eater? Or when I didn't spend enough time with you... because in your opinion... I thought you were beneath me?"
Ron looked down guiltily at his hands and Harry didn't need to see his face to see that he was ashamed. 'Well, at least he regrets it,' he thought in satisfaction.
"Harry I… I'm sorry. I guess I should have known better than that," Ron smiled slightly when he looked up again. "You're my best mate after all… since the first day of school. And who would've thought that the famous Harry Potter was just a normal guy?" the redhead frowned. "Well… a normal guy who has a crazed Dark Lord after him and has a mental link to said nutter. Sure, you have some issues… everyone has. Not to mention the spells you are able to come up with sometimes… but hey, that's jus-"
"You're rambling," interrupted Harry with a smirk as he leaned back in his chair. "I accepted long ago that I'm by no means considered 'normal'. But please, back to the topic. We were talking about Hermione."
Ron nodded. "Yeah… we were. But Harry, I'm trying, really! When she came over to the Headquarters this summer, I nearly fell out of my socks. She… she looked so amazing. I don't know why, but seeing how you flirted with her and then suddenly seeing you two together…I hadn't realized how beautiful she really was until then."
Harry shook his head. "You were blind then."
Ron stared at him. "Huh?"
"I said you must've been blind then. Hermione has always been beautiful in her own way." Harry looked out of the window now, just as Ron had done before. "Have you ever noticed that she has a natural beauty that makes it unnecessary for her to wear make-up like all the other girls her age? That she seems to stick out everywhere… that she radiates an inner beauty… a strength that lights up the whole room she's standing in? And her eyes…"
He sighed wistfully, nearly forgetting that Ron was still sitting in front of him. "I could get lost in them… they hold so much emotion. And even the smallest quirk of her lips, the faintest smile makes my heart beat faster. Every move she makes is a picture of perfection and elegance. And her voice… her voice sounds like music… soft and melodical, even when she's angry. Hermione has always been beautiful and smart, kind-hearted, friendly, and courageous, and loyal... the list goes on and on… "
Ron stared at him wide-eyed. "Wow… mate. I… I don't know what to say…"
"Just be quiet…," they heard a chocked whisper behind them and they whirled around.
Harry felt his mouth go dry when he saw Hermione standing there. She had tears in her eyes and was looking at Harry like she had seen a ghost. "Mione…" he whispered and stood up.
She was still looking at him with wide eyes. "D-did you mean it?"
Harry didn't need to ask what she was talking about, so he nodded immediately. "Yes. Every word I said. How… how much did you hear?"
"Everything… since you said that Ron must've been blind…"
He looked into her eyes. "And everything is true."
His heart suddenly started beating faster and he felt a grin form on his lips when she smiled widely and rushed forwards – directly into his arms. He circled his own arms around her when she held onto him tightly and then looked up at him.
"Thank you," she smiled and then pulled him down into a passionate kiss.
Harry was rather surprised at that, because normally he was the one who usually initiated the kisses. Sure, she gave him soft pecks on the cheek, or a small kiss on the lips, but never like this. Not on her own accord.
He slowly sunk back onto his chair with Hermione still kissing him and his breath quickened when her hand travelled up his chest and into his wild locks, while she adjusted herself comfortably in his lap, still kissing him passionately.
Harry reluctantly broke the kiss to get some much needed oxygen to his befuddled brain, but Hermione didn't seem to mind. Her other hand travelled over his chest when he began to kiss the base of her neck. He smiled when she gave a low moan and grabbed his sweater a little tighter.
"Oi! Get a room you two!" came the sudden shout and they broke apart.
Harry looked around the Common Room, and saw that nearly every member of the Phoenix House - minus Euan and Rose – was looking at them with smirks on their faces. He guessed that it must have been George who shouted, because he was looking at them from the base of the stairs with an apologetic grin on his face while Harry glared at him.
He looked back at Hermione and saw that she was beet red but still hadn't changed her position on his lap. His eyes fell on Ron who sat on his chair, shielding his eyes with his hands and carefully peering through his fingers.
"Um… finished?" he asked rather awkwardly.
Harry gave Hermione a small smile. She was staring at him with a curious and concerned expression, and he sighed.
"I guess we should talk another time." said Ron uncomfortably.
Hermione frowned and looked at both of them. "Did I… interrupt something?"
Harry and Ron looked at each other. The redhead had a slightly pain-filled look on his face and just shrugged helplessly.
"Ron… don't you think it's best to talk about it when Hermione's here? She's involved in this after all and has a say in that matter."
Hermione's frown deepened and to his dismay abandoned her position on his lap to sit down on another free chair so that they were facing each other. "What are you talking about? Is something wrong?"
Harry drove a hand through his messy hair and looked at Ron who had a panicked look on his face. "You know… before you arrived here, we were talking about you. About our feelings for you to be exact."
Hermione stared at him and then her eyes widened in realisation when she grasped the meaning behind his words. Her head snapped to Ron, who had sunk deeply into his chair with ears just as red as his hair. Harry smiled softly when he saw the blush on her cheeks and she suddenly became very fidgety.
"Oh, Ron… I… I hadn't realised... why didn't you say something?" asked Hermione nervously.
Ron looked at her. "Would it have changed anything if I did?"
Hermione bit her lip. "Well… no… yes. I mean… I'm sorry Ron, but… argh! It really wouldn't have. … oh god, now I'm feeling guilty!"
Harry couldn't resist. He chuckled at the helpless and guilty look Hermione was giving Ron and nearly started to laugh at the scolding one she sent his way. He quickly composed himself and looked over to Ron. 'Ha! Even he is smiling slightly!'
"Why are you feeling guilty?" asked Ron perplexed after the small smile had left his features.
Hermione stared at him with an unbearable expression and then crossed her arms. "Honestly Ronald!" she huffed. "I'm feeling guilty because Harry and I kissed in front of you without giving it a second thought. I can't even imagine how it must've hurt you… and I'm sorry."
Ron shook his head while his face slowly turned the same color as his still red ears. "Don't be. No one's able to choose the one they falls in love with. I may have a crush on you," he sank deeper into his chair, "but you're with Harry now. I guess I've accepted that and…" he smiled slightly at Harry. "I know that I'll never be able to feel as much for you as Harry does. The way he just talked about you proved that, I think."
Harry and Hermione stared at him and then looked at each other. Then they turned back to Ron.
"When did you grow up?!" they both asked simultaneously.
Ron snorted. "I guess getting five months older in two months does that to you."
"But Ron… I… I'm really sorry about it," said Hermione quietly. "I hope… I hope that doesn't change that we're friends and… that you and Harry are friends. I would feel miserable if you two break apart just because of me."
Harry leaned forward in his chair and looked at Ron who shook his head and smiled slightly. "That'll never happen. Ron and I are best mates and now that we've talked about it I think that it'll be okay."
Hermione stayed silent and looked at the redhead for confirmation.
"Harry's right," he nodded. "Like I said to him before. I know that I can be a jealous prick, but you two are my best friends and I don't want to destroy that. I guess I just have to get over it…"
They sat in silence for a while. Harry saw that Hermione was still fidgeting slightly and cleared his throat. "Not that I mind, but why did you come here anyway? Didn't you wish us a good night before?"
Hermione's face brightened. "Oh, right!" she flicked her wand and an ordinary galleon appeared in her free hand. "I think I've found a way to communicate with the H.A. members. We were talking about it before the meeting, but I thought that it would be good to have a method ready when we see them the next time. I thought about it on my way to the tower and decided to come here before I forget it."
Harry nodded and eyed the galleon in her hand. "And?"
She smiled. "This isn't a normal galleon." She threw it in the air with a smile. "It may look like one, but it's impossible to pay with it. At least it should be."
Ron sighed exasperated. "Glad that you didn't beat around the bush…"
With a huff Hermione threw the galleon over to the redhead who caught it slightly startled. "Look at the numbers and tell me what you see."
The redhead frowned and turned the galleon around. "You mean what the numbers say? Um… they read… hey! Those show the date of our next meeting!"
She nodded. "Exactly. I thought that we three, Draco and Neville should be able to set the date and the time of the next meetings or use them in case of an emergency. So I cast-"
Harry, who meanwhile was looking at the galleon after Ron raised his eyebrows and whistled slightly. "The Protean Charm…"
Hermione looked at him slightly baffled. "Yes, how do you know?"
Harry traced the numbers with his fingers and smirked when he looked up again. "I can feel it…"
She and Ron tilted their heads and stared at him curiously. "How can you feel it? I was sure I removed every trace of my wand after I cast the charm. Just like you taught us some time ago."
"Don't worry, you removed all traces of your wand," Harry reassured her when she wanted to grab the galleon to check it. "The Protean Charm may be taught in seventh year and is a spell required for the NEWTs, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it's a light spell."
Ron frowned. "It's not?" he looked at the coin and frowned. "What exactly does it do anyways?"
"If one of us touches the coin and changes the time and date of our meeting they'll grow warm and inform the others. Of course we have to give everyone a fake galleon first."
Ron's eyes widened slightly. "Damn! This somehow reminds me of… the Dark Mark."
Hermione looked down at the floor. "That's where I actually got the idea from. Voldemort may be a murderer and a terrorist, but he's definitely not stupid when it comes to spells."
Harry snorted. "You can say that again. He knows his stuff," he grimaced slightly. "But I really prefer Hermione's idea to cast it on a galleon. I wouldn't want to have a tattoo that tells me the date of the meetings."
"So we're using them?" asked Hermione.
He nodded. "I don't think Draco and Neville will have anything against it."
I hope you liked it
As I said above, I really would like to have your help with this one. The Hogwarts Army has six groups, each with five students. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville and Draco are now known as the Phoenix Squad, but I still need names for the other five.
Those are:
1. Ginny, Luna, Blaise, Theo, Susan (Harry's)
2. Fred, George, Lee, Katie, Alicia (Draco's)
3. Justin, Hannah, Terry, Ernie, Parvati (Neville's)
4. Colin, Michael, Anthony, Astoria, Lavender (Ron's)
5. Daphne, Angelina, Cho, Padma, Dean (Hermione's)
It would be great if you can send me some suggestions in a review. But it schould be fitting for the group. I will choose the best names and probably put them on a poll.
So send a Review!
Dark Phoenix of Slytherin.