39: Dumbledore's Army

HOGWARTS, FOURTH EARTH

The posters were everywhere. Almost every hall was lined with parchment declaring, JOIN DUMBLEDORE'S ARMY! MEET TONIGHT AT SEVEN IN THE DEAD-END HALL OFF THE ATRIUM! There was barely a two foot interval between each of the posters, a side effect of putting Pinkie in charge of making and posting them. Excited to take charge with the new club, she'd gone quite overboard.

The clock chimed seven, and a large throng of students had gathered before the dead end, including the six Equestrians, Luna, Ginny, Hermione, Ron, and Neville. Harry was the last to appear, surveying the crowd.

"Er…hello," he greeted. "This is the first meeting of Dumbledore's Army this year. I guess we should start with showing you the practice area…"

He pushed through the crowd to the blank wall. "Incendio!"

Most of the students gasped when the fiery door revealed itself. "Well," Harry encouraged, "come on in."

He led them all inside the ballroom. Then, when all were settled, he took his place at the front of the crowd. "Most of you have probably been in this group before," he said, "from when we formed during the year that Dolores Umbridge took over the school. If you haven't, we formed so we could make sure we knew enough about Defense Against the Dark Arts to be able to protect ourselves from the forces of Voldemort. Our name comes from the last Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. If you didn't know him…well, let's just say he was one of the bravest and kindest men I ever met.

"Anyway, you've probably heard that there's some kind of threat that's connected to Voldemort somehow. Someone who attempted to kill the Malfoys. We can't be unprepared. I want to teach you everything you can know to protect yourselves. This means spells you normally wouldn't learn until later years. Spells that aren't even taught in mainstream curriculum, like how to summon a Patronus. It isn't going to be easy. But we're going to be in this together, and it's all right to have a little fun learning it, so long as you all remember that the danger is very real," Harry finished.

"He's really good at this," Applejack whispered to Pinkie Pie.

"Well, duh!" Pinkie replied. "Think about what he's done before!"

"Let's start with a roll call so we all know each other," Harry said. "Well…you probably all know who I am. And Hermione, Ron, and Neville too. Luna, why don't you start?"

"I'm Luna Lovegood," Luna said. "Resident expert on nargles and other uncommon beasts. I know how best to stay safe from them."

"Ginny Weasley," Ginny said after that. With no further explanation, she nodded towards Twilight, who picked up her cue.

"I'm Twilight Sparkle," Twilight introduced. "I know, I'm not the most…traditional first-year. But I'm ready to learn all there is to know about staying safe from the Dark Arts."

"Applejack," Applejack followed up. "I might not have a full range of powers, exactly, but I've got enough."

"Rarity," Rarity said next. "I'm fairly talented at most spells, if I do say so myself…"

"Rainbow Dash. All-star Quidditch Chaser for Gryffindor!"

"Um…I'm…my name is…Flutter…shy…"

"HI! I'm Pinkie Pie! And I just can't WAIT to start learning all kinds of magic and making new friends and—"

She was interrupted by a girl who tossed her long, black, wavy hair. "I'm Romilda Vane," she said, batting her eyelashes at everyone in the room, including Harry and Ron, who shuddered involuntarily. "And I just want to say that it's an honor to be able to work with the Boy Who Lived, because there's truly no one better when it comes to combatting the Dark Arts."

"Nigel Wolpert," Nigel said sternly, standing up straight as though called to attention. "Gryffindor Prefect! And I too am honored to be able to work with Dumbledore's Army again!"

A young boy with dark tan skin, shining dark hair, a slight frame, and effeminate facial features stepped forward. "Luca Caruso," he said sternly.

After him was a girl with very dark skin and curly black hair. "I'm Alice Tolipan," she introduced.

That was the end of the faces Harry recognized from the prior Army. Next came the new recruits. "I'm Veronica Aardman," Crouch said with a bright smile, "and I just can't wait to get started!" He had been amazed to find this secret room. It was definitely worth linking up to a Portkey for the invasion.

Then came a loud clearing of the throat. "I'm Hestia Carrow. Slytherin Prefect."

Many students flinched at the name "Carrow."

"Erm…" Harry wasn't sure what to say. "Well, we've…we've never quite had Slytherins—"

"I'm aware," Hestia insisted. "I know you know what my name means, and it's the reason I wasn't beside you before. But I want to stand against the Dark forces just as much as you. Especially if they're about to threaten anyone in my house."

"You think we can trust her?" Ron hissed to Hermione. "Her mum was a Death Eater! So was her dad!"

"Ron," Hermione whispered back, "she's trying to escape from that fact. She hates Voldemort and everything he stood for."

"Wait, you've been getting all close with the Slytherins?"

"Only a few. And they aren't all like what we usually think of a Slytherin to be. Hestia is on our side, and so is her sister."

"Her…sister?"

As if Ron had spoken of the devil, the next to introduce herself was "Flora Carrow, Seeker for the Slytherin Quidditch team. And ready to blast the Death Eaters to kingdom come."

"Well, it certainly is unusual," Harry admitted, "but the more of us stand against the new threat, the better. Flora, Hestia…" He couldn't quite believe he was saying it, but he knew he couldn't in good conscience turn anyone down for their Houses or their names, especially when they seemed to have arrived with such good intent. "Welcome."

"Oi, speaking of Slytherin," the next girl piped up, "I'm Steveny Nichols. But call me Stevie."

Harry noticed that there was one person in the room who hadn't introduced herself. "And you?" Harry asked, projecting his voice—she was hanging back against the far wall. Everyone turned to look at her, this girl who had separated herself out from the crowd.

"She's from Slytherin House," Hestia recognized. "…I think." She realized she had only a vague recollection of this girl's features, though she was sure she'd seen her in the Common Room before.

The girl, pale with short-cropped dark hair, muttered something so quietly that no one could understand her.

"Could you speak up, please?" Harry asked her.

"I said my name is Astoria Greengrass," the girl said, so softly that she was barely audible.

"Yes," Hestia muttered, "that name's one of ours…"

"And you're here to join Dumbledore's Army?" Harry inquired.

Astoria nodded without a word. The expression on her face made it quite clear that though she was quiet, she wasn't meek. She stared ahead with purpose and determination.

"Well," Harry said. "Now that we're all introduced, we should begin. Everyone should pair up and we'll practice the Disarming Charm."

The crowd awkwardly moved into groups. Former members of the group chose those who were new to face off. Harry faced Twilight. Ron faced Applejack. Romilda faced Astoria.

"This will be review for most of you," Harry said, "but it's good to start small and work our way up. The Disarming Charm is basically like this. You flick your wrist this way, and then you say, 'Expelliarmus!'—"

In a blast, Twilight's wand flew from her hand. "Nice," she complimented.

"Now, I want you all to try it," Harry said. "You won't be hurting your partner, so don't worry about that."

Twilight had retrieved her wand. "So the thing is," she explained softly, "my friends are all sort of magical, but they can each only do certain spells. Rarity can do them all. But the others…they'll be able to do some of the spells, but not all of them. It's kind of a guess as to who can do what."

"Then we'll see who can cast this one," Harry replied.

Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash all lost their wands immediately, unable to make anything work. However, Applejack was easily able to outdraw and disarm Ron. "Whaddaya know!" she remarked.

After a while, everyone who could cast the spell had at least a fair grasp on it. "Are you feeling ready to move on?" Harry asked.

A resounding "Yes" answered him.

"Good," Harry said. "Now, let's try the Impediment Jinx…"

"Attention, students," Ermond Ricksmith told the class in which Twilight sat. "We have a very special guest speaker today." Twilight could see him working to contain his excitement. "Harry Potter himself is here to talk about curing werewolf bites! Mr. Potter! The floor is yours!"

Harry had been standing next to Ricksmith the whole time. Twilight knew that he probably needed no introduction but for the fact that Ricksmith wanted to do one. "Thank you, Professor," Harry replied. "The thing about werewolf bites is, there isn't really a cure for them yet. There's supposedly some big research project at St. Mungo's attempting to find one. But that's not really what I wanted to talk about today.

"The closest thing we have to a cure is the Wolfsbane Potion, which is difficult to make and has to be taken often. But it causes a werewolf to keep his human thoughts during his transformation instead of forgetting himself and hurting anyone. A lot of werewolves either take the Wolfsbane Potion often or just arrange to be away from other people during the full moon. That's the part you'll need to know for the test. More importantly…well…the reason werewolves even care is because they don't want to hurt anyone. They're people just like us who have run into REALLY bad luck. That's something you have to keep in mind with most everyone who seems dangerous. Giants, werewolves, centaurs. They're worth getting to know instead of staying afraid of.

"I know, I know…you're thinking I'm only saying all of this because of Remus Lupin. And…well, I am. Everyone hated him because he couldn't be cured. Everyone but his closest friends. But he was more than just a valuable ally against Voldemort. He was a truly great mentor, and a professor this school was lucky to have when it did. No offense, Professor Ricksmith. If you could both be here today, I'd have that. So, no, there is no cure for werewolf bites. But that doesn't matter, not really."

That was the moment when Twilight Sparkle knew for sure that she had found a solid ally in Harry Potter.

Harry, Ron, and Neville added themselves to the study table in the library. At first, Ron was opposed to this.

"I'm done studying," he babbled, almost disgusted. "I don't have to do this anymore!"

"No, you don't," Hermione reassured him. "No one's going to make you read. But I still have work to do, and so do most of us. We're going to be here most of the afternoon."

"Fine," Ron sighed, driven by a desire to not be alone. "I'll stay."

"Can you believe this?" Rainbow Dash cried, looking at her textbook's passage referring to the Wiggenweld Healing Potion. "These ingredients are ridiculous! I mean, there's the normal wizard stuff, right? Horklump juice, Flobberworm mucus, Chizpurfle fangs, Billywig slime, Boom Berry juice, a stewed Mandrake, Honeywater, sloth brain mucus, Moondew drops, sloth blood, lionfish spines, powdered unicorn horn—"

Twilight and Rarity flinched.

"—wolfsbane…and MINT and ONION?" Rainbow Dash finished. "Mint. And onion."

"Mint is a highly magical herb," Hermione explained, "especially in conjunction with more effectively magical plants."

"And onions have great healing properties all on their own," Luna added. "Eating an onion a day will make you healthier."

"You're making that up," Ginny accused.

"I make sure to eat at least one daily," Luna went on. "It promotes the immune system and hair growth. And Crumple-Horned Snorckacks hate the taste of onion blood."

"Question," Rarity interrupted. "Whom among us first-years was able to master Spongify, aside from Twilight and myself?"

Fluttershy slowly raised her hand.

"Then we're ready for the next adventure," Twilight announced.

"Did you find out about another hidden room?" Ginny asked.

Twilight nodded. "Something called the Demigod Hall. I'll tell you all about it when we've looked through it." She paused. "Do you think you should come with us, this time?"

"Yes!" Ron began.

"No," Hermione replied sternly. "The centaurs trusted them with this knowledge. Until relations improve, it's best that we let those secrets remain between them, with the obvious exception of the Moshu and Mofa ballroom."

"We probably don't want to get Bane ruffled," Harry pointed out.

"But we did show you the ballroom," Pinkie Pie rebutted. "Maybe we could show you the new hall later! And maybe you could even see the Luminary Hall sometime!"

"Gaspard Shingleton!" Neville cried, looking over Fluttershy's shoulder at the History of Magic textbook she read. "The inventor of the self-stirring cauldron! He was my first Chocolate Frog card!"

"Speaking of," Hermione said, "I keep going back to thinking about that card we all saw, the one with Maleficent. For some odd reason, it reminds me of the stories about the hag Leticia Somnolens. But they only look sort of similar. Not truly similar."

Rarity had stopped listening somewhere along the way. Of course, once Harry, Ron, and Neville had joined the study table, Draco had stopped showing up. She had a clear view of him several tables away, sitting and reading and stewing. He was obviously very angry.

"Excuse me," Rarity said, getting up to leave the table. The others stared after her out of curiosity.

"Is she…" Ron began.

"Probably," Applejack confirmed. "We probably shouldn't stare."

Rarity approached Draco's table. "I see you're alone," she stated.

"Yes," Draco answered. "I am."

"You really couldn't work anything out with them?"

"No. Don't worry about me. You can just go and be with…them."

"I'm not saying I favor them," Rarity said hastily. "Well, of course, their history does seem to be a little…cleaner than yours, but I'm not going to start hating you just because of them. Believe me when I say it's entirely possible to have friends on both sides of an enormous conflict. I've seen it happen."

"You have every reason to pick them," Draco huffed.

"Can't you just trust me?"

"I suppose." He sighed. "You were the first one to speak to me."

"You know…we're all working quite hard in Dumbledore's Army to prepare to fight whoever it was that attacked your family. I was thinking that you might be a great help to us."

"And how could I possibly help?"

"The fact remains that of those currently on campus," Rarity stated, "you know more about the Dark Arts than anypony. Even Hestia and Flora weren't actually in Voldemort's circle. And if you know about the Dark Arts, it stands to reason that you know how to fight them."

There was a long pause before he said, "I'll think about it."

"I just want to make sure you're all right."

"Do NOT worry about me."

"I'll leave you alone, then," Rarity said. She turned. She noticed.

Ever since Astoria had made her presence known in Dumbledore's Army, a strange phenomenon had begun between her, Rarity, Hestia, Flora, and Stevie. The latter four had begun to notice her. She would always be as far away from humanity as possible: sitting on the floor in the corner of the Common Room, eating at the farthest end of the table (at the opposite extreme from Lucius and Narcissa), beneath the shade of a large tree on the grounds. She was nearly always either reading or writing. "It's like playing a game of Where's Wally," Flora had compared, referring to a series of puzzle-books Rarity had never known, where a distinctive character was hidden in a sea of faces. "She always goes out of the way to hide herself. But once you see her, you can't stop noticing that she's there." At that moment, Astoria was tucked away in a table in a far alcove of the library, a wall of books stacked up before her.

"Have you ever spoken to Astoria Greengrass?" Rarity blurted.

"There was a Daphne Greengrass in my year," Draco answered, looking up from his book for the first time to meet Rarity's eyes. "We weren't close. I think I'd heard she had a sister."

"That's her," Rarity said, pointing out the far table. "She's alone much of the time. Perhaps you could try speaking to her. I don't know what she thinks of you."

"If it's all the same," Draco answered, "I know that I want to be alone, and from the looks of it, she does too."

"All right," Rarity sighed. "It was only a suggestion. I'll see you in the Common Room."

She returned to the study table, where a heated discussion was taking place as to whether or not self-stirring cauldrons sacrificed quality in the name of efficiency. In the words of Ron Weasley, "It's like living with Percy all over again, talking about cauldron bottom thickness…"

Stevie slipped into the Slytherin Common Room, looking guiltily back over her shoulder. After a while, she approached the table where Hestia was writing an essay on a parchment roll. "Oi."

"Hello, Stevie," Hestia replied, looking up. "Did you need something?"

"Well, I—what are you looking at?"

Hestia stopped surveying the room. "Sorry. I just have to actually check now to make sure she's not actually around. I never noticed before."

"Who, Stori?"

"Did you even really think about her before the first Dumbledore's Army meeting?"

"I didn't know she existed until then."

"In any case, I apologize. What did you want to say?"

"Well..." Stevie shrugged uncomfortably. "So, I'm kind of a forget-the-rules kinda girl. Filch can go fly a kite. Most days. He wants me to get rid of the color in my hair."

"You've been breaking the rules since day one, Stevie. Frankly, I haven't said anything because Ebony makes you look good," Hestia sighed.

"Well, I was going to keep it in just to get him angry, you know?" Stevie rushed. "But he's been taking points off the House. And I'm also the kind of girl that likes to win things." She sighed heavily. "So I noticed we were in the lead. And if I don't get this washed out by tomorrow, we're going to lose the lead. What's the spell for getting rid of it?"

Hestia grinned. "Tell you what. I'll show you how to transfigure your hair so it looks natural when you want it and not when you don't. Be very careful around Filch, and you can have it both ways."

"Why do you care?"

"Because you just admitted to me that you're part of the Slytherin team. So am I. I look out for my own."

Twilight, Rarity, and Fluttershy stood before the dungeon wall as Pinkie, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack hung back.

"I don't like this," Applejack admitted. "This is pretty far down under the castle, and creepy to boot."

"It'll be fine," Rainbow assured. "What are you even so scared of? Monsters? We can take monsters."

"It ain't that I'm scared of anything in particular," Applejack replied. "It just don't feel right."

"Well, it is a dungeon," Pinkie pointed out.

"Ready to see what's down here?" Twilight asked.

"Y-y-yes," Fluttershy squeaked.

"Are you afraid?" Rarity inquired.

"N-no," Fluttershy attempted. "Well, maybe a little, but it's like Pinkie Pie said. It is a dungeon."

"There's nothing on the other side of this wall we can't handle," Twilight resolved. "Cast on three?"

"Okay," Fluttershy agreed.

"One," Twilight said, "two…three."

She, Fluttershy, and Rarity pointed their wands at the wall, calling out, "SPONGIFY!"

The wall rippled. Rarity touched it to find that the bricks felt like very stretchy rubber, the mortar lines providing a seam down the wall; Rarity stretched the bricks aside like a curtain and stepped through to the other side of the wall. One by one, her friends followed.

They found themselves at the top of a spiral staircase that plunged downward into darkness, stone alcoves appearing at intervals.

"Okay, now I'll admit this is getting creepy," Rainbow Dash stated.

"Reminds me too much of King Sombra's old palace," Twilight added with distaste. "Too many stairs."

"I still don't believe he could have possibly liked stairs enough to build that many staircases," Rarity replied.

"Oh. He did."

"Well, let's see what's in here," Applejack suggested. They set out for the first stone alcove.

Inside it, there was a shelf somewhat like a small altar. Upon that altar rested an iron bow. A bronze plaque on the front proclaimed it to be THE BOW OF BASHA, RETRIEVED IN THE NAME OF CHIRON BY MIRANDA SILVER.

"So this is like a museum?" Rainbow Dash wondered out loud.

A male voice was heard echoing somewhere nearby: "This is quite a surprise. I don't normally see the living down here."

"Who said that?" Twilight called out.

In answer to her call, a pearly white ghost, resembling a man of average build and wearing medieval dress, phased through the wall of the alcove and into view. The six were taken by surprise. They'd seen ghosts here and there in the castle, so they knew of their presence, but none had ever interacted with them. In truth, it was his sudden appearance more than his ghostly status that startled them.

"I come here often to gather my thoughts," the ghost said. "I did not think any of the living knew the way to enter. Then again, I did not think that centaurs would be accepted as students…and it is more appropriate that centaurs should be the ones to find this place."

"Why's that?" Applejack asked.

"Because," the ghost said, "this is the Demigod Hall. When Hogwarts accepted demigod students from the Olympic territory, they would have meetings here, assign quests, display spoils of war. More centaurs were part of the staff, then. Chiron himself, even. After Voldemort, though, they all returned to the Olympic territory, and one can only presume they built their own training ground. This very bow belonged to one of the most ancient centaur warriors. A complete tyrant, of course. That was why it was important for it to be reclaimed in the name of Chiron."

"I'm sorry," Twilight said, "but I don't know who Chiron is. I feel like I should."

"A great trainer of demigod heroes," the ghost said wistfully. "An immortal. One of the most noble beings I've ever met, though I suppose you get that way after living long enough to learn how to be mature…they say he was more pompous in his younger years." He paused. "I can't help but think that I've seen you somewhere before."

"Maybe you saw us in an earlier timeline," Twilight suggested. "We did travel to the past of this world. Or we're going to. Apparently."

"No," the ghost mused, "I don't think we ever spoke. I've just SEEN you somewhere."

"Well, we wouldn't have talked then if you'd told us now we never spoke," Twilight insisted. "I don't want a temporal paradox on my hooves!"

"We don't actually even know who you are!" Pinkie Pie pointed out. "What's your name anyway?"

"Oh, my apologies," the ghost said. "I am Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, though most know me better as Nearly Headless Nick."

"NEARLY Headless?" Rainbow Dash replied.

Nick sighed. "Everyone always asks." He tapped one side of his head; it very nearly fell off his neck, remaining attached by one sinew.

Fluttershy screamed and hustled to hide behind her friends. Rarity let out a cry of "Eeeewww!" Twilight, Applejack, and Pinkie all did double-takes. Rainbow Dash stepped forward to get a better look; "Cooooool!"

"How does that even happen?" Twilight asked.

"Forty-five strokes with an improperly sharpened axe," Nick explained.

"I'm sorry," Twilight replied.

"One gets used to it," Nick said, putting his head back in place so he could properly shrug. "Who, then, are you?"

The six gave introductions as per usual. Nick listened intently.

"Ring any bells?" Applejack asked him.

"Not yet," Nick admitted. "I'm still not sure where I've seen you before. It may just remain a mystery."

"So how long have you used this place?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Ever since I began haunting the castle," Nick explained. "It was already here then. The artifacts get older the further down the stairs you go. That's what they are now: artifacts. No demigods have attended the school or encountered a quest related to it for years."

"Can we take a look around?" Twilight inquired.

"By all means," Nick said, beginning to float down the stairs. The others followed him. "It really is a lovely place to be alone and think. About how things would have been different if only the axe had been sharper. I do hope for all of your sakes that should you ever be beheaded, that it be a proper job."

"Uh…thanks?" Applejack replied.

They walked past alcoves showcasing weapons, trophies, even what looked like animal body parts such as claws. "All of them collected in quests," Nick reminisced. "Though nowadays, there's more than enough excitement to make up for the questing of old days. Wizarding wars and all."

"We're actually hoping another war doesn't happen!" Pinkie clarified. "And it might turn into kind of a quest!"

"It looks like something big is coming, all right," Rarity added. "No matter what."

They passed another alcove, this time with a large decorated clay vase. "That looks interesting," Twilight pointed out.

"Rather blandly colored," Rarity added.

"The pottery is how stories were depicted when there was no spoil to bring back," Nick mentioned. "In fact…now I remember! Yes! Come with me." He sped up his floating down the stairs. The others followed.

"So there was a time when there were more centaurs and humans getting along?" Fluttershy asked quietly.

"Before He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named," Nick answered. "With him came a resurgence of everything Salazar Slytherin had ever said about pure-bloods. Gods aren't wizards. Some of the demigods we taught here were half wizard, half god, and even that isn't good enough for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. The others were half god, half Muggle."

"Why were they accepted?" Pinkie asked.

"Because they too needed to learn about magic and the mystical," Nick pointed out. "After all, they were children of the gods. Yes, things were different…and then He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named spread ideas to drive out those who weren't of wizarding kind. The Ministry didn't help, sending back interdimensional travelers. Needless to say, centaurs were expelled en masse. Chiron was forced to flee. A tragic day. But I have seen many tragic days. It's all part of being a Hogwarts ghost! There are good days, too, of course. Yule Balls are nearly always entertaining."

Down and down and down they went. "These would be from the ancient days, when the Olympic territory was in the Greece of that world," Nick explained. "You were obviously not joking about being able to travel to the past."

"Why do I not like where this is going?" Applejack asked.

"Here we are!" Nick stopped before a certain alcove. "This is the one."

Twilight entered first. The alcove held a vase on a pillar. The plaque below it read THOSE WHO COMBATTED CHAOS—NAMES UNKNOWN. Twilight looked at the vase itself. "OH MY GOSH!"

"What, what?" Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rarity struggled to see over her shoulders. They could not, at first, believe what they saw.

The vase was decorated with an etching of six Kentaurides that were obviously them. The hair was a dead giveaway—Pinkie's curls, Rarity's coif, and Applejack's ponytail remained constant. Their flanks were bare, not covered by robes—instead, they all seemed to be clothed in garments that only covered their torsos and then draped down their fronts—and on each, a familiar Cutie Mark was delicately etched: triple apples, a six-pointed star surrounded by spangles, triple butterflies.

"That's definitely us," Twilight confirmed.

"We're heroes of the ancient times of this Olympic world!" Rainbow Dash cried with glee.

"I'm hopin'," Applejack replied. "They say we fought chaos. They don't say we saved anything."

"Who are 'they' anyway?" Pinkie mused.

"Obviously the historians of the Olympic territory," Twilight replied. "Hang on…I've heard about this before! Olympic Greece! It's linked up right next to the Seven Deserts through a portal!" She turned to Nick. "But…something happened so it wasn't 'Olympic Greece' anymore?"

"You were the one who mentioned temporal paradoxes," Nick pointed out. "It's perhaps better if you don't know—"

"It's not like we had anything to do with the change," Twilight argued.

"It shifted nations," Nick explained. "First it was Greece, then Rome…it went all over the world. The last I'd heard, the gods were settling down in America, making an Olympic America. But that was before He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

"No one calls him that anymore," Rainbow Dash berated. "Just say Voldemort!"

"Old habits die hard," Nick answered. "Much like me."

"I wish we could know more," Twilight sighed, looking at the vase longingly, "but I guess we can't until we actually get there. I think we've seen enough."

"I wouldn't mind getting out of the dungeon," Fluttershy whispered.

"Let's go back up," Applejack suggested.

They moved up the stairs again. "Thanks for the tour, Nick," Applejack said at the top before the wall that would give way to let them back into the main dungeon hall.

"It was no trouble," Nick replied. "I do hope to see you around again, and not as a mere etching on a vase. And do keep earning points for Gryffindor. It would be nice to pick up our winning streak."

"I hate to inform you," Rarity said, "but Slytherin is in the lead."

"Hmph!" Nick folded his arms. "So it's back to THOSE dark days, is it?"

"Hey," Rainbow Dash complained. "If Slytherin wins, I'm just gonna be happy for Rarity here. And for Hestia and Flora and Stevie. I mean, yeah, I wanna win the Cup for Gryffindor, but does it really matter all that much?"

"It just routinely pleases me to see it proven that Salazar wasn't always right," Nick admitted.

"Believe me," Rarity replied, "Slytherins nowadays aren't all keen on Salazar."

"I think we've had enough fun for today," Twilight said nervously, not wanting a fight to break out. "Come on. Let's go. We'll see you around, Nick."

Then it was back through the wall and out into the hallway.

"Centaurs," Nick repeated to himself, shaking his head—gently, so it wouldn't topple. "Days are changing."

Harry led the majority of Dumbledore's Army into the ballroom for the next practice session, only to find that one member was already there. "Oh…hello, Veronica."

Crouch's tongue flicked at his lips nervously. He clutched closely the book he'd been linking to the room as a Portkey. "Hello, Harry," he said cheerfully in his girlish squeal. "I'm really excited for today!" He slipped the book discreetly into his bag next to the chocolates.

The regular members of the Army filed in, lining up. "Today, I want to teach you one of the most important spells when it comes to the Dark Arts," Harry began. "We've been focusing on combat spells and what to do when you're facing off against other wizards, but there are also creatures that can harm you. Like Dementors. Dementors can suck out your soul if you don't know how to defend yourself against them. They eat emotions, and try to make you forget your happiness. There's only one real way to defend yourself against them, and that's with a Patronus Charm. That's a spell that makes you…a protector, sort of. Made out of your happiest memories."

"Would you say it's kind of like a spell made of what's in your heart?" Twilight asked, thinking back to the statement that Echthroi were only defeatable by weapons of the heart.

"That's exactly what I'd say," Harry clarified. "A Patronus is one of the more difficult spells to master. A lot of you, I've already seen do it, so you're just going to get to review it. But if you've never done it before, what you have to do is think of something that makes you happy, one of your best memories of your entire life, and focus on it. Then you flick your wand—like this—and say, 'Expecto Patronum.' You can all go ahead and try it."

With that, the room was filled with cries of, "Expecto Patronum! EXPECTO PATRONUM!" For many, silver mist burst from the end of each wand and formed into the figure of an animal. Hermione was able to produce an otter, and Ron a Jack Russell terrier. For those who had never done the spell, it was more complicated. Hestia, Flora, Astoria, and Stevie were each able to produce only a burst of silver mist; Stevie and Flora knocked on their wands to see if that would help. Crouch, in keeping with the charade, purposely cast a half-baked puff of silver mist instead of a true Patronus.

Interestingly, each of the six Equestrians was able to produce silver mist. Twilight considered this. The Patronus seemed to be something associated with one's inner self. While her friends each had a different magical leaning, lending to their different spell sets, they each had the protective desire and happy memories that made up a Patronus.

Twilight focused on her own casting. She tried to think of happy things. She thought of the first time she stood before Nightmare Moon, when she realized that each of her friends was a true friend…thinking back on how Applejack had earned her trust by not letting her fall to her death, how Fluttershy had proven her kindness to the manticore, how Rarity had sacrificed her own tail so that they could cross the river, how Pinkie Pie had taught Twilight how to laugh at frightening things, how Rainbow Dash was given the chance to leave Twilight and the others for fame and glory but chose not to. When Twilight recalled all this before Nightmare Moon, the spark had awakened in her, the spark that singled her out as the Element of Magic and denoted the Elements of her friends. That was when Twilight knew not only that she would prevail over Nightmare Moon, but far more importantly, that she had entered into six bonds that would be difficult to break.

"Expecto…PATRONUM!"

The silver mist from Twilight's wand burst into a winged form, settling down as a Great Horned Owl, much bigger than Owlowiscious, that perched upon Twilight's shoulder. Twilight held her head high proudly.

"Whoa," Ron remarked.

"That's it!" Harry cried.

"It's gorgeous!" Rarity gushed.

"Really beautiful," Fluttershy added.

After a while more of practice, more Patronuses were produced. Fluttershy was able to summon a giant silvery Luna moth, bigger than her face. She stroked it as she would any other animal. Rarity's Patronus was a peacock with a great fan tail. Pinkie Pie, ever the master of happy thoughts, formed an octopus that scrambled across the floor with its many tentacles.

In the very back of the room, Astoria calmly cast burst after burst of silver mist. All at once, one of her attempts blossomed into a giant spider, tall as her waist. She didn't seem surprised by this at all—in fact, her expression didn't change one bit. However, once the acromantula began to crawl around the room, Ron yelped and jumped about three feet in the air before grabbing onto Hermione and hugging her tightly, Ginny brandished her wand at it, Rarity shrieked, Pinkie employed her "laugh at what scares you" technique, Stevie bit back a swear word, and even Crouch did a double take. Astoria's expression remained unchanged; she watched her creation blankly.

"All right," Harry said quickly, "I think that's enough of the Patronus spell for one day. You can dismiss them."

A great sigh of relief was audible when the Patronuses, including Astoria's acromantula, disappeared.

"Now," Harry said, "let's move on to…to…"

He halted. Something behind the crowd had caught his attention. Everyone turned. To their surprise, none other than Draco Malfoy stood at the other end of the room, having just come through the door of fire.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" Harry snapped.

"You're teaching them everything about protection," Draco answered. "But are you teaching them exactly what they'll be up against?"

"What do you mean?"

"I was taught the exact opposite," Draco pointed out. "The Dark Arts themselves. I know them far better than you. They'll need to know, all of them, what they're facing."

"And…you want to teach us…?" Harry couldn't quite comprehend.

"Yes," Draco replied simply.

"Why do you care?"

"They attacked my parents. They attacked me. I'm not letting that go."

"So why not just focus on that? Why care about the rest of us?"

"Do you want my help," Draco asked, "or not?"

Rarity gave Harry a meaningful pout.

"All right," Harry sighed. "What do you have to say?"

Rarity shot a bright smile toward Draco. Draco noticed, giving her a slight nod and the faintest grin.

"Do they know about the Unforgivable Curses?" Draco asked. "True followers of Voldemort wouldn't hesitate to use them. Even on students. Especially on students."

"You're right," Harry realized. He hadn't thought to talk about the Unforgivable Curses, and the first-years wouldn't have studied them. "Well…er…the floor is yours."

"There are three Unforgivable Curses," Draco said, moving up to stand by Harry. "There's the Killing Curse. Avada kedavra. They'll use it on you if they get the chance. You can't block it with Protego. So don't let them have the chance. There's the Cruciatus Curse. The torture curse. You'll survive it, but it could drive you mad. But there's also the Imperius Curse. The mind control curse. It's difficult to do, but if you really, really want to…you can resist it." Draco looked to Harry. "You can resist it, can't you, Potter?"

"It's difficult, all right," Harry emphasized. "It's like having a voice in your head that tells you everything you have to do. The trick is to ask it why and then tell it no." An idea struck him. "Malfoy. You can cast it, can't you?"

"You trust me?" Malfoy asked, taken off guard.

"Yes," Harry confirmed. "And also, if you try any funny business, Ron will probably jinx you into oblivion."

"Damn right," Ron muttered.

"You're not going to snitch on me, are you?" Draco asked. "This is illegal."

"It's in the name of learning defense," Harry reminded him. "You all swear this doesn't leave this room?"

Everyone nodded. Even Crouch knew it wouldn't be worth it. Having Malfoy thrown into Azkaban for casting an Unforgivable might lead to his death, but it would deprive Crouch himself the chance of killing yet another traitor to Voldemort.

Harry and Draco turned to face each other. Draco drew his wand; Harry made no move to do anything similar. Confused by the behavior of his rival, Draco cast his curse: "Imperio."

"I'm an arrogant git," Harry said suddenly, "who can't even tie his shoelaces. I only passed school by kissing up to the professors, and I…I…n…no…no." Harry clenched his teeth. "No. Nice try, Malfoy. Very mature."

"They weren't joking about you," Draco replied. "You really can break it."

"It's easy now," Harry admitted. "The first times…it wasn't." He turned back to the Army at large. "Would it be asking too much to…try a practical lesson?"

"You mean breaking the mind control curse?" Rainbow Dash replied. "Bring it on!"

"I wouldn't be opposed," Hestia agreed.

"I'm in favor," Hermione added.

"I'm not," Ron muttered.

"Overruled," Ginny told him. "This is important."

Crouch just slipped another chocolate into his mouth.

And so Draco Malfoy cast Imperius on the majority of the Army, testing their mental mettle. Some gave in completely—Hestia spun round and round in circles while Romilda lay still on the floor and did nothing, all at Draco's bidding. Some were able to resist slightly. Ron tripped over his own feet in the process, Rarity alternated between piling her books in a neat stack as she was told and knocking them over out of defiance, and Stevie, naturally defiant, placed her left hand on her right wrist to stop her hand from casting a spell that shot red sparks into the air.

Twilight was the only one to break it, and this was after a long struggle. "Why SHOULD I balance my Potions textbook on my head?" she cried, throwing it to the floor.

"I have to admit," Harry told Draco, "you've actually…helped."

"There's more I'd like to do," Draco answered, "but you probably wouldn't approve of it."

"Try me."

"They should learn to cast it," Draco stated simply.

"Cast an Unforgivable Curse?" Harry answered, somewhat aghast.

"Voldemort's followers don't hold back!" Draco growled. "You've been teaching them nice and polite spells like Expelliarmus, spells that won't hold up if they don't have wands that share the cores of their opponents like you did. If you want to survive against Death Eaters, you have to be able to play their game."

Harry took a moment to think about it, not realizing that the others in the room could hear everything.

"It is a good point," Luna said. "Harry, your Disarming Charm repelled Voldemort's Killing Curse because of Fawkes' feathers."

"But it just isn't right," Harry insisted.

"To use the Cruciatus or Killing Curse, maybe," Nigel Wolpert brought up. "Imperius was just banned because it made it impossible to tell who was brainwashed and who wasn't."

"But you can't just take over people's minds!" Romilda moaned. "You'd be using them like puppets!"

"Which would help us against people who want to kill us," Ginny countered. "There's no way to counter it! That's the perfect way to not let them have the chance!"

"What if we had the choice?" Rarity asked. "To learn it or not?"

"That's a good idea," Harry realized. "At the next meeting. You can learn to cast it if you think it will be a good defense. Or you can sit it out. But right now, we've come to the end of our time. You should probably keep practicing the Patronus, and we'll meet again next time."

Many filed out. Harry turned to Draco. "You know, I can't believe you."

"I'm glad you decided to come," Rarity said, approaching the two.

"I just didn't see you as the loyal type," Harry prodded.

"The fact remains that I do know more about what Death Eaters will do than anyone here," Draco reiterated.

"I…I'd appreciate it if you would come back," Harry admitted. "We need that kind of thinking here. Do you have any interest in joining Dumbledore's Army?"

"Oh, please do!" Rarity begged.

"I'll see you again in the same place next time," Draco answered. He turned to leave, but found another member of the group standing next to him, Rarity, and Harry. Astoria Greengrass, looking calm as ever, had silently made her way there.

"I just wanted to say thank you," she told Draco. "For what you're doing. I appreciate it. Learning about the Dark Arts themselves is going to be very beneficial."

Then she turned and walked away before anyone else could say anything.

Watching from some ways away, Pinkie asked, "Did you see that? D'you think she likes him?"

"Well, he is the person she's said the most actual words to," Rainbow Dash pointed out.

"That's a lot to assume from one conversation," Twilight told Pinkie. "If that was even a conversation."

"Do you really think it's right?" Fluttershy asked. "Learning Dark curses?"

"I don't like it," Applejack sighed, "but Expelliarmus ain't gonna stop the killin' curse. Harry and Draco had the right idea. Everypony here should have the choice to learn it. We don't have to. We'll find other ways. After all, we got the powers Kyubey gave us."

"I agree," Twilight said. "Though it would at least be good to be there for the lesson. You know, to help the others' progress…"

"You're interested by that Imperius thing," Applejack asked, "ain't ya?"

"It's not that I ever want to use it!" Twilight said hastily. "But…as a student of magic, I don't want to just ignore it."

"We trust you," Fluttershy said. "It is your decision."

"I…don't know," Twilight admitted. "But we are at least going to watch, right?"

"We're all part of the same team now!" Rainbow Dash asserted. "Team Dumbledore's Army!"

Rarity rejoined the group, and they left the ballroom.

Chapter 39:

· I pulled as many of the original members of the DA as I could—those who hadn't graduated and I hadn't summoned back, anyway. Romilda and Nigel were in. Alice and Luca, there's some confusion over. Apparently they've been portrayed both as Muggles and wizards, but in the films, their names are clearly visible on the DA sign-up sheet, and I needed more members, so that's what I went with.

· While Astoria Greengrass is the canon Draco ship, we don't have any clue on her personality. So I had to make it up, which adds up to me basically doing a Draco xOC. And in the Potter fandom, making a Draco xOC is one of the trickiest things. I'm hoping that 'Stori turns out to be likeable or at least tolerable, because I've grown attached to how I want to portray her.

· The ingredient list for Wiggenweld is filled with everything the Potter Wiki said had ever gone into it in all its incarnations. But the onions were my own addition. Reference to "Holes," of course.

· I'm currently just making up shit so that the Mane Six are the only ones who get to tour the secret rooms this year.

· Leticia Somnolens is literally the Potterverse Maleficent (cast a sleeping spell on a princess out of spite as a deliberate Sleeping Beauty reference). I have no way to reconcile the two into one character, so I'm going to pull "parallel universe" on this one. And probably not bring up Leticia again unless plans change.

· Daphne Greengrass was canon.

· As you can guess, the Demigod Hall is sort of based on the Spongify Challenge in the Sorcerer's Stone video game, though I adjusted the architecture from there (STAAAIIIIIRRRRSSS).

· Honestly…it took me a while to figure out I'd gone this long without bringing up any of the ghosts. So you get Nick. The thing is, I remembered him being really mopey (I remembered his griping about the Headless Hunt most clearly), so I wrote him as a total emo before going over some of his scenes and realizing he's not. Jacey's bad.

· If you've read the Percy Jackson books, or even just the first one, you know what I'm implying happened in history after the demigods left Hogwarts. If you haven't, I'm leaving that in the "suspense" category.

· "Bow of Basha" might be THE most obscure reference I've pulled in this fanfic to date. Basha was an evil centaur (and not even the head evil centaur—he was the second in command, but the only one with a weapon) from "Voyage of the Basset: Islands in the Sky," one of my favorite books as a young'un. Though it's practically unheard of and has no fandom, and I only read the first three books of the series anyway because I didn't like the third one.

· Book Crouch doesn't flick his tongue. Movie Crouch was. Please please please make him David Tennant.

· I should start naming and crediting my consultants. Thanks to Ophira for helping me with the Patronuses. I knew what Twilight's and Rarity's had to be, and was going to make 'Stori's a shark and Pinkie's a seal. Ophira helped me figure out Fluttershy's as well as change Pinkie to octopus and Astoria to spider. RD and AJ will get theirs later—I thought the other four would be more adept at it for the reasons I stated (ties to magic, to animals, and to happy memories).

· I had the idea for how to get Draco to become part of the Dumbledore's Army team proper for a long time. Yes, it's a little "dark" to be bringing the Unforgivable Curses into this, but I think that would be something Draco could realistically bring to the table.

· I'm bullshitting why Crouch didn't rat him out. I know that Crouch would probably just be happy if he went to Azkaban, but a personal vendetta allows me to continue this plot development and keep Crouch on the down-low longer.

· And the Death Eaters don't do much here 'cause they're mostly waiting for Crouch to do the Portkeys.