This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

With everyone's name scrawled across the piece of paper they retook their seats, Hermione carefully folding up the paper and placing it in her bag.

"You're going to keep that safe, right?" The Ravenclaw boy from earlier asked. Somewhere in Harry's mind he identified him as Michael Corner. "It wouldn't do for anyone to find it."

"What we're doing isn't against any school rules," Hermione pointed out, though she wasn't convincing anyone.

"Yet," Michael pointed out. "You know if anyone finds out what we're doing they're going to be after us." A ripple spread through the crowd, a few people muttering nervously. It was a worrying truth.

"I'll keep it safe," Hermione promised. "No one will see it but me, I guarantee it." She took a deep breath. "Anyway, now that we've all committed ourselves it is time to decide how we're going to do this. I was thinking we could meet a couple of times a week."

"As long as it doesn't clash with our Quidditch practice," Angelina said immediately.

"I'll do my best to avoid that," Hermione promised. "Although I think sometimes you might just have to make a decision. I see that the entire Gryffindor Quidditch team are here but for the Hufflepuffs and the Ravenclaws you have to be careful not to arouse suspicion."

"None of us are on the Quidditch team," Ernie McMillan spoke up on his house mates' behalf.

"And I'm captain this year," Cho Chang said. "I can arrange the schedule however I want."

Hermione nodded in satisfaction. "Good, then I suppose we just need to worry about location."

"There's the Pokemon Battling Hall," Ernie pointed out.

"Which is right next to Umbridge's classroom," Fred reminded, rolling his eyes. "I think even she is smart enough to catch us if we're practicing right next door."

"I agree, we need to find a better place," Hermione said quickly, Ernie looking quite disappointed to be shot down so quickly. "I was thinking one of the battling fields."

"Not big enough," Angelina said. "Those are designed for at most a single double battle to take place at a time. Unless you want us to spend most of the time standing around watching we'll need more space."

"Plus it'll be easy for Umbridge to find us," Alicia spoke up quietly. "They're not very private."

Hermione took a breath. "Well, I've got nothing," she told them. "Anyone else got any ideas?" No one spoke. "Then I guess we'll call an end to the meeting then. If anyone thinks of anything then please let us know. In the meantime keep a low profile and don't say anything to anyone."

That was the signal for people to start leaving, which they did in groups of two or three, spaced out to try and help them blend in a bit with the Three Broomsticks clientele and avoid suspicion. Harry worried that it wouldn't be of much use, it was hard for so many students, particularly some as rumbustious as Fred and George, to stay inconspicuous.

"Well that went about as well as I thought it would," Hermione was saying as the last stragglers from the group awaited their turn to leave. "I honestly thought they'd need more persuading."

"Yeah, well, you didn't count on Harry, did you," Ron said with a grin, punching Harry's shoulder. "He can convince anyone of anything."

"That's not even close to true," Harry denied, thinking of the many people both inside Hogwarts and out that were currently not believing a word he said. Twenty-six people had joined them today, and in the grand scheme of things that was a very small proportion of the Hogwarts population. And these were the ones who actually knew him.

"Don't worry, Marietta, you go on ahead." Cho Chang was one of the last to leave, and it appeared she was trying to delay her departure even further. Her friend, Marietta, did not look happy with her. She whispered something, too quiet for Harry to hear, which made Cho look uncertain. She glanced from Marietta to Harry and then to Ron and Hermione before her face dropped. Ducking her head she followed her friend out the door.

"I wonder what that was about," Ron muttered, having noticed the situation too. "Weird." Hermione sighed.

"Only to you," she told him exasperatedly. "To most people it is incredibly obvious what is happening." Harry and Ron shared a look. Each were as lost as the other. Hermione sighed again.

"Cho wanted to talk to you, Harry," Hermione explained as the last of the group, Susan Bones and Hannah Abbott, left, leaving them alone in the parlour. "She likes you."

"What?" Ron said in disbelief. Harry was glad he did, he wasn't sure he was capable of saying anything to that.

"Cho likes Harry," Hermione repeated. "She was hanging back hoping to talk to him, only with us here and not likely to leave she probably thought better of it, or at least her friend did. She's been trying to get Harry alone since term started."

That did ring a bell with Harry as his mind cast back to Quidditch tryouts. Cho had been quite interested in talking to him then, and Harry would have listened if it weren't for Ron and his cold feet. Had she tried again since?

"What does she want to talk about?" Harry asked. Hermione bit her lip.

"I'm not sure she really knows," she admitted. "Cho hasn't exactly been in the right frame of mind this year, not since Cedric… well, you know. She really liked him and so she's really upset."

"But what does that have to do with Harry?" Ron asked. "I mean, I'm sorry for her and everything but Harry doesn't really have anything to do with her."

"It's because she likes him, Ronald," Hermione bit out. "And she doesn't know how to deal with it. On the one hand she wants to talk to Harry, because that's what you do with people you like. On the other hand she feels guilty for, in her eyes, betraying Cedric and his memory. So not only is she sad and trying to get past it to live her life normally also her feelings about Harry, and the actual act of moving on, are making her feel even worse."

"So what should I do?" Harry wondered. He didn't really know how to deal with girls or relationships. The closest he'd got was taking Ginny to the Yule Ball, and that had been as friends.

"That's really up to you," Hermione told him, the worst possible advice. "If you like her then maybe you can try and talk to her and try to help her deal with Cedric."

"And if I don't?" Harry asked.

"Maybe you should still talk to her," Hermione said uncertainly. "Maybe you shouldn't. I don't really know. People are complicated and Cho's situation makes things even more difficult. Honestly I'm worried that any course of action will just hurt her more. But then ignoring her might be the worst of all."

Great, Harry thought, another thing to worry about. Immediately upon thinking that he felt bad. It wasn't Cho's fault, he could only imagine what she was going through. He just wished things were easier.

He shook his head. "What about Ginny and that Ravenclaw boy?" He wondered, turning to Hermione. "There was something weird there, when they were signing the paper."

"Well, it's not really weird when you think about it," Hermione explained. "Ginny was always going to have your back in this and it was unlikely she was going to expect anything less from her boyfriend."

"What?" Harry and Ron both said the same word but with very different intonations. Harry, mildly surprised, just hadn't realised Ginny was dating. Ron, on the other hand, looked furious.

"I probably shouldn't have told you," Hermione admitted, though this comment was aimed at Ron. "There's a good reason Ginny hasn't told any of her brothers."

"Yeah, but what about me?" Harry wondered. Maybe Ginny didn't trust him not to tell. The thought left him feeling disappointed.

As it happened Hermione had an excuse that was, perhaps, worse.

"I suppose it must have been because of her crush," Hermione told him. "I suppose there's still a part of her that isn't completely over you and so feels like she's cheating on you a bit by liking Michael."

"I hope not," Harry said honestly. "Ginny's been a lot more fun to hang around with since getting over that crush."

"Excuse me," Ron burst out as Hermione nodded in agreement. "I think we're skipping over a very important part here."

"Oh, for goodness sake, Ron," Hermione snapped. "She's fourteen years old, she's allowed a boyfriend. And, for that matter, she's perfectly within her rights to keep it quiet from whoever she sees fit."

"Yeah, but Corner," Ron grouched. "Slimy git, isn't he. You heard him earlier, questioning Harry…"

"That was Zacharias Smith," Hermione pointed out waspishly. "Michael, on the other hand, only displayed concerns over the privacy of members, a valid concern considering the repercussions of getting caught."

Ron grumbled as Hermione turned smartly away from him, heading out the door. Harry doubted he'd ever be alright with someone dating Ginny, it just wasn't something he could do. As far as Harry knew Ron didn't have any opinion of Michael Corner until today.

Meanwhile Harry had his own concerns. Cho Chang, someone Harry would have even stretched to calling a friend towards the end of last year. She liked him, at least according to Hermione, and Harry couldn't deny he found her to be pretty. She was. But he couldn't even think of ever being in a relationship with her, not without a twisting in his stomach.

She was Cedric's girl, a voice spoke in Harry's head. Cedric's. And if Harry could not have protected Cedric when they'd been teleported to the graveyard then the least he could do is not take his girl.

But Cedric would want him to make sure she was alright, Harry knew. Cedric truly cared about her. And so Harry made a silent promise to himself to keep an eye out for Cho Chang. He may not want to be with her but if he could he was going to make sure she was happy.

Even as he thought this it seemed a daunting task.

Saturday passed and Harry's worries increased, both in regards to Cho Chang and otherwise. One particularly big worry gnawing at him was the prospect of leading a group of students to what amounted to rebellion against the Ministry. He did not feel prepared to teach them anything, as he had said multiple times he did not believe he had anything he could teach them, and furthermore he felt as though he was roping many of his classmates into a risky scheme, one they were joining out of loyalty to him rather than any true belief about the necessity of their actions.

He did not mention this to Ron or Hermione. He knew what they would say, hearing it again would not convince him.

Sunday morning was usually a sleepy day for the inhabitants of Hogwarts, devoted to lying in and relaxing in the common room, as well as completing any last minute homework for the week ahead, and for most of the students at Hogwarts it was this Sunday too. For Harry, Ron and Hermione it was a perfect time to act.

While they'd convinced many of their classmates to join them in forming this group a few very large obstacles sat in their path, one of which being that they had no location in which they felt safe from detection that would also be able to suit their needs. Since the meeting at the Three Broomsticks Ron had suggested the Chamber of Secrets, only for Hermione to remind him just how horrible it had been down there and that there was no guarantee that Umbridge did not know how to find it. Other than that they'd had no new ideas and so they went for help to the one person who knew the castle grounds better than anyone.

"Hello there," Hagrid called cheerfully, wandering round from behind his cabin with a large bucket of slopping water, his sleeves rolled up past his elbows. "What're you three doin' down here at a time like this?"

"We just wanted to visit you, Hagrid," Hermione told him, an outright lie. "What are you doing up so early?"

"Lots to do, Hermione," Hagrid told her. "It's a big job this. The grounds don't look after 'emselves." On the surface this statement would seem patently false as Harry was quite sure that the forest ecosystem was more than robust enough to thrive even without Hagrid's presence. However he knew full well of Hagrid's importance as a caregiver to the various Pokemon that lived there and a keeper of the peace when required. Hagrid, Harry often thought, had the most important job in the school, behind Dumbledore.

"Why don't yeh come join us round the back," Hagrid told them. "We have some battle training going on."

Following Hagrid round the back of his cabin Harry, Ron and Hermione did indeed see that there was some intense battling going on inside the paddock that sat near the edge of the forest. Norbert, the steadfast Shelgon, was standing off against Aragog, Hagrid's Ariados, on one side, and the Mightyena, Fang, on the other. As they watched Fang threw a Shadow Ball at Norbert, who turned to take it side on, bracing against the powerful blow. A String Shot approached from Aragog, trying to trap Norbert in place, but fire burst from the Shelgon's mouth, forcing the Ariados to leap to the side. Fang took this as an opening to charge forward recklessly and crash into Norbert full on. Unfortunately Fang seemed to come out worse in the collision.

"Alrigh' that's enough," Hagrid called, his Pokemon looking to him immediately. "Gather it all in, there's some good lads. That was a mighty fine practice that was." Each of his Pokemon looked immensely pleased.

"I'll say," Ron agreed, looking impressed. "Norbert's looking really strong. I can't believe he only hatched four years ago." Hagrid nodded in agreement.

"Pokémon grow much quicker than humans do," he told them knowledgeably. "You're probably finding that with Pikachu, aren't yeh, Harry. Not quite as young and inexperienced as he once was."

Harry nodded. Pikachu had grown a lot in the two years since they'd met, and though he would always be a bit more childish than Charizard or Talonflame Harry had come to realise that it was actually just part of Pikachu's personality. He was warm and friendly, and not quite as fiercely competitive as Harry's other Pokémon.

"Now, why don't we stop beatin' around the bush, eh," Hagrid said, turning fully to face the three fifth year students, who each jumped in surprise. "Throughout the entire time you lot have been at this school you have not once come visit me on a Sunday morning without having good reason to." Harry, Ron and Hermione shared a look. Hagrid knew them too well.

"We were actually wanting to ask you something," Harry said cautiously. "We didn't really want to wait until class."

"In case Professor Umbridge was inspecting," Hagrid said knowingly. He had them pegged.

"Please Hagrid, all we want to know is if you know of anywhere we can practice battling without Umbridge interrupting," Hermione said earnestly. "We just want to practice so we don't get rusty while she refuses to teach us."

"I suppose that makes sense," Hagrid said, scratching at his beard. "It's jus' the three of yeh, then?" Again Harry, Ron and Hermione shared a look.

"There may be more," Hermione said hesitantly. "Fred and George want to come and maybe Neville and… other people." Hagrid stared down at them, the three students positively wilting under his gaze, before he snorted.

"A lot of other people I'd say," Hagrid said genially. "And not just Gryffindors too, from what I've heard."

"And what have you heard?" Harry asked worriedly. They'd only just met yesterday, how could Hagrid have found out already.

"I was down at the Three Broomsticks last night," Hagrid told them. "Bin chattin' with Madam Rosmerta." He gave them a meaningful look.

Harry turned to Hermione. This was exactly why he had been against saying anything. Hermione looked a bit embarrassed.

"So you know then," Harry said. "You know what we're trying to do." Hagrid nodded.

"Aye, I do," he told them. "And I'm not disagreeing with yeh. Umbridge is a right piece of work and I'm hardly surprised she doesn't teach anythin' but useless Ministry crap." That perked Harry up. "But I think yeh all should be very careful. Umbridge may be a toad but she's got the Ministry behind her and like it or not they've got the power right now."

"They won't for long though," Hermione said. "Once You-know-who decides to make a move…"

"The Ministry will fall like a pack o' cards," Hagrid finished. "And you lot will need to be able to defend yerselves. I told yeh I think it's a good idea. Jus' be careful, alright."

"Okay, we will be," Harry assured him. "Trust me, I understand. So will you help us?" Hagrid's beard crinkled.

"Yeh know what, ever since I heard what yeh were planning I knew you'd come to me," he told them, looking amused. "Didn't think it'd be today but I knew you'd ask. Come with me, I think I have just the place." He walked off into the forest, leaving Harry, Ron and Hermione in his wake, Fang, Norbert and Aragog following alongside them.

The path they took through the forest wasn't one Harry recognised. It was vaguely similar to the one they'd taken to the location of the first task last year, directly behind Hagrid's cabin, but it was a fair bit round to the left than what Harry remembered and it seemed to take longer, perhaps because of the rather steep slope they were forced to climb down, more than once losing their footing and having to hold on to each other for balance.

Ahead of them Hagrid walked forward without any concern, traversing the route with the air of a man who had done so many times before and knew where all the concealed roots and uneven earth were without even needing to look.

"Hagrid, where are you taking us?" Ron asked, panting slightly as he hurried a few steps to catch up with the giant man.

"Yeh'll see in a mo," Hagrid told him. "Just a few more steps." The two of them broke through the line of trees and stopped dead.

"Wow," said Ron.

Harry pulled up beside them, just avoiding getting his foot caught on an exposed root, and looked upon the scene before him. He thoroughly agreed with the sentiment.

The clearing they had been led to was huge, easily big enough for the twenty odd students that would be gathering. A stream of water ran through the middle, narrow in parts, enough for people to jump over, but wide enough in other places for water type Pokemon to thrive. The ground was mostly dirt, with grass spotted around and the occasional large boulder and even a small, somewhat sorry looking tree.

What was most noticeable to Harry were the cliff walls that surrounded the clearing on three sides. They were unscalable, at least without a lot of training, and towered many meters above them, explaining the long slope they'd just climbed down from. Trees were visible up atop the edges, providing even more cover for the clearing even as sunlight shone down to bathe part of the ground in a warm glow.

"Hagrid," Harry said quietly as Ron and Hermione stepped forward, looking around the clearing in awe. "Is this what I think it is?" Hagrid's eyes sparkled.

"The first task," Hagrid said, confirming Harry's suspicions. "This is where the dragon handlers were keeping the Pokemon beforehand. Looks a lot deeper from down here than up there, doesn't it."

"Yeah," Harry agreed. It was somewhat amazing to him to relate this peaceful, beautiful clearing with the dark battleground he'd seen a year ago. Back then the clearing had been the sight of four aggressive and powerful Pokemon challenging each other even as their handlers tried to restrain them. Could it really be the same place?

"This place is surrounded by trees on all sides," Hagrid told them, raising his voice for Hermione and Ron to hear. "It's big but easy ter miss if yeh're not lookin' for it. Only the sky will provide an easy spotting, an' even then the trees give some cover. What do yeh think?"

Ron looked to Hermione, who in turn looked to Harry. Harry nodded.

"It's perfect."

A/N: Hi there, thanks for reading and I hope you've enjoyed this chapter. Sorry this is a late upload, unfortunately I've been a bit busy so haven't been able to meet my usual upload schedule.

I also wanted to take the chance to talk about something a couple of you mentioned in the reviews about how surprised you are at Hermione being the one to stand up to Umbridge, and not Harry. The reason for this is that I have always seen Hermione as someone who has a great respect for authority, and I've always imagined that it would greatly insult her to witness people in authority specifically going against their responsibilities. A teacher who refuses to teach, for example, or a journalist who refuses to publish the truth. I think this is a large part of her dislike of Trelawney in the books, since she saw her as someone who was trying to convince them of something that wasn't real and dared to do so under the title of teacher. Rita Skeeter is another very good example.

I know it runs a bit contrary to cannon that Harry isn't standing up to Umbridge like this but I've found that my version of Harry hasn't got quite the same frustration and angst with being left out of the loop in the fight against Voldemort. He got his chance to say his piece in a Legion meeting and though he isn't being told everything he feels much more in the know than JK's version of Harry.

I've always imagined Harry as someone who cares more about results (i.e. making sure people are safe and trying to defeat Voldemort to protect everyone), as opposed to Hermione who fights on behalf of principle, that without this angst he would be much less likely to be openly confrontational. That doesn't mean he won't fight to undermine Umbridge, just that he doesn't see the point of openly confronting her when it won't achieve anything and just causes more trouble.

Anyway, this is just my interpretation and I just left this note to give you an idea of why I went the route I did with this story. I'm not saying I'm right but it is what I think so that's how I write it. I hope you've enjoyed this chapter and I look forward to seeing you all in the next one.