After dinner one day, Hermione asked to talk to Jane, Neville, and Luna in private. They went into an empty classroom and closed the door.
"I heard back from Professor Lupin today," Hermione said. "He would like to meet us, along with all the people who want to participate, in the Three Broomsticks during our next Hogsmede weekend. I still have copies of the lists, so we don't have to remember. I figured we'd tell everyone in the common rooms tonight. Jane, I made a note, which I plan to gemma charm a bunch of times, so you can just pass them out."
Jame smiled at her, in thanks.
Hermione smiled back, and then she started counting the people on the Hufflepuff lists.
They went into the Three Broomsticks, and they all crowded around Professor Lupin and a dark-haired man who Jane recognized from the newspaper as Sirius Black.
"Hello everyone," greeted Professor Lupin. He pointed to his friend. "This is Sirius. He'll probably be acting as a teaching assistant. Anyway, I heard that your guy's professor won't teach you anything, and you want me back."
Everyone nodded.
"And I am delighted," he said with a smile. "I contacted Dumbledore and asked his permission, and he said it was fine but that he doesn't want Umbridge to find out. He suggested a special room for us to do it in and a way to get into the castle. To keep it a secret I wrote it down and drew a map."
"And he'll show it to anyone who signs the contract," Hermione said. She pulled out a parchment and set it on the table.
Everybody signed it.
"I think we'll try to vary our meeting times," Professor Lupin said, "to help go unnoticed. Is everyone okay with Saturday, at eleven, for our first meeting?"
Everyone nodded.
Jane got a lot of weird looks lately, mainly from other students, especially when she used her wand. Her teachers all knew about her speaking situation before the start of the school year, as Jane's mother had sent a letter to the school explaining it, but she'd even gotten weird looks from some of them. She was getting fewer weird looks, and she was getting better at ignoring them, but now she was going to have Defence Against the Dark Arts class with a group that included students she had never had a class with.
She tried to tell herself that she was worried about nothing. The people she'd never met would get used to it, if they even noticed.
Neville, Jane, Hermione, and Luna walked up the stairs, on their way to the seventh floor. They were soon joined by many of the other students.
Two of those fellow students were Fred and George, who kept looking at a small piece of parchment.
They were soon on the seventh floor, standing back while Hermione paced back and forth.
The door formed, and everybody entered. Everyone looked around and then stared at the opening of the tunnel. Hermione had, as Professor Lupin had requested, asked the room to have a tunnel to the shrieking shack.
Professor Lupin and SiriusBlack entered, through the tunnel.
"I would call to call our first meeting of my new class to order, but first I was wondering if anyone would like to give this special group a special name."
"How about the Anti-Umbridge League?" said Angelina.
"Or the Minstry of Magic are Morons Group?" suggested Fred.
"How about a name that didn't tell everyone what we were uo," said Hermione.
"The Defense Association?" said Cho.
They broke up into pairs to practice spells. "Patrificus totalus," Neville said, aiming his wand at Jane. Nothing happened.
Jane said it in parseltongue, aiming her wand at him, but nothing happened for her either.
Jane went up to Neville and whispered in his ear. "Maybe our wands can't do spells against each other."
Neville recalled when Jane had told her about the time she faced the boggart. "Maybe you're right," he said. "Hey Hermione, Luna," he called, approaching them. He told them about the issue.
Neville paired up with Hermione, and Jane paired up with Luna.
Neville aimed his wand at Hermione, noticing that she looked a little upset. "Patrificus totalus," he said.
Hermione fell to the ground, in the body-binding curse.
"Episkey," Neville said.
Hermione's body was free, and she quickly sat up and pointed her wand at Neville. She paused, looking really nervous now. "Patrificus totalus," she said.
Neville fell to the ground, but it was not as ad as he remembered it being.
"Episkey," Hermione said.
Neville got up. He looked at Hermione, noticing that she looked really upset now.
He glanced over and Jane and Luna, noticing that they were doing fine, and then looked back at Hermione. "Are you okay?" he asked.
"I'm sorry, Neville," she said, "for when I did that to you in our first year."
"I forgive you," Neville said.