CHAPTER 37: THE SECRET SOCIETY OF DUMBLEDORE'S ARMY

The dimly lit, weathered room sprawled beneath a ceiling adorned with cobwebs and grime, where stained tables and battered chairs served as the only furniture. Above the crackling hearth, a lopsided, taxidermy boar's head hung askew. Harry couldn't help but study the collection of dust and spiders clustered precariously overhead. He carefully balanced a coaster atop his drink, an attempt to fend off any potential unwanted intrusions.

Katie, seated across from Harry, emulated his coaster maneuver, waving a casual hand towards Hermione, Ron, Dean, and Neville, all gathered at the rickety table. "Which is more than can be said for their club plans," she remarked, her voice carrying a hint of skepticism.

Harry took a leisurely sip of his butterbeer and gently replaced the coaster on his glass. "Why are we here again?"

"I just wanted to escape Hogwarts for a bit and take a stroll around Hogsmeade," Katie replied, her eyes glinting with mischief. Foam from her drink lingered on her upper lip.

"I meant, why the Hog's Head?" Harry gestured at their less-than-inviting surroundings. "We already ventured up to the Shrieking Shack earlier."

Katie, ever the enigmatic one, licked the foam off her upper lip and batted her eyelashes playfully. "Don't you know?"

"Obviously, if I knew, I wouldn't be asking," Harry retorted, trying to hide his curiosity.

"Let's not be grumpy," she said, patting him on the cheek with her cold, damp hand.

Harry wiped the condensation off his cheek and shot her a flat look. "And?"

"Hermione, Ron, and Dean have been suggesting that we form a group for Neville to teach," Katie revealed with a conspiratorial smile.

"But you've already passed your OWLs, and I'm the one who taught Neville..." Harry began, perplexed.

"I thought it might be fun, and a few other older students seem to agree," Katie beamed. "Plus, I really don't have anything better to do today than drag you around Hogsmeade like a reluctant boyfriend."

Harry considered the implications. "It's going to be quite a small group," he observed, glancing around at the mostly empty tables. "I'm teaching him, they're already learning from him, and you're only here to have a laugh and hex me."

"Everyone's supposed to be here in about five minutes," Katie replied, her expression hopeful. "But I have no idea how many people will actually show up—maybe ten or fifteen, or perhaps more."

With the mysterious gathering about to unfold, the Hog's Head Inn held secrets yet to be unveiled, and Harry's curiosity continued to grow as the minutes ticked away.

'They might be disappointed,' Harry mused, finishing his drink and nodding toward the quartet at the table. 'Neville might not ever agree to teach them. He doesn't seem impressed that Hermione set all this up without asking him first.'

Katie's gaze shifted to Hermione's bushy back and she gave a mischievous grin. 'Can't say I blame him. Hermione can be a bit, um, forceful sometimes. You'll have to teach us instead.'

Harry chuckled. 'Dark ice curses for beginners.'

Katie playfully punched him on the shoulder. 'Don't joke about that. Impaling other students with icicles isn't funny.'

'Not even when I did it for you, my dearest dark mistress?' Harry leaned in closer to her ear. 'You didn't object to me defending you; you even offered to let me check your—'

'Harry,' Hermione's voice interrupted his whisper. 'Tell Neville he has to teach us.'

'Why?' Harry shrugged. 'He can make his own decisions, Hermione. He's his own person. If you want to or think you should, then by all means, teach, Neville, but don't let them force you into something.'

'Umbridge isn't going to teach us,' Ron interjected.

'Yeah, and Neville already helped us with his shield charm,' Dean added. 'I'm sure he wouldn't mind helping you or anyone else, once he gets over his fear of speaking to people he doesn't really know.'

'I know I should teach,' Neville muttered. 'But nobody'd listen to me; they'll never think that I know what I'm talking about.'

'Show them they're wrong,' Harry encouraged. 'When they see you're better than them, they'll have to swallow their pride and ask for help. It'll be fun. If they're anything like Hermione, it may even cause them physical pain.'

Hermione shot Harry a withering glare, while Katie tried to stifle a giggle in her butterbeer, inadvertently splattering foam over her mouth.

'Very attractive,' Harry commented with a smirk.

Katie blushed. 'Hush, you.'

'Everyone will be here soon,' Hermione said, her voice filled with concern. 'I already promised them it would happen if they wanted.'

Harry rolled his eyes. 'You should've thought about that before leaving it to the last minute to ask Neville.'

'I assumed he'd want to help his friends,' Hermione replied, her voice tinged with remorse.

'Maybe he's already helping all his friends,' Harry replied.

Neville glanced between them and made a decision. 'I'll teach, but Harry will be my assistant.'

Ron and Dean winced at the prospect, while Hermione's face brightened with enthusiasm.

'That's good,' Katie pointed out, gesturing toward the window. 'Because everyone's arriving now.'

Neville gulped nervously, but then he straightened up and fixed a determined expression on his face. Small groups of people streamed in until there were no more empty chairs and no standing space left around the dirt-stained walls.

'There are a few more than ten,' Harry observed, his eyebrows raised.

Katie giggled. 'I underestimated Neville's appeal.'

'Or perhaps nobody has managed to teach themselves how to do a shield charm,' Harry remarked.

She sighed dramatically. 'A shame you'll be too busy scrubbing cauldrons with Snape for icing Malfoy to teach us all. I've always had a little fantasy about being kept behind by the handsome professor.' Katie offered Harry a coy smile. 'I'll do anything to make my grade up, Professor.'

Harry laughed. 'I don't think getting yourself immolated by an angry veela is going to help your grades, Miss Bell.'

Katie pouted. 'Why did Dumbledore even give you the detentions?'

Harry shrugged. 'So he can get Snape to keep an eye on me, probably.'

'I guess we should start, then.' Hermione stepped in front of the fire and raised her voice to address the crowded room. 'Professor Umbridge doesn't want to teach us any real magic, so we'll have to learn and practice ourselves. Neville has already helped us from time to time, and he's agreed, with a few stipulations, to help teach a larger group.'

'Longbottom?' Zacharias Smith, a Hufflepuff, ran a hand through his blond hair and laughed. 'He doesn't even know which end of the wand to hold.'

Neville flinched at the comment.

Hermione huffed. 'I—'

'Let's see your shield charm, Smith,' Neville ordered. 'Come on.'

Smith flushed and reluctantly sat down.

'Protego,' Neville incanted.

A bright wall of silver light materialized around Neville, and murmurs rippled through the pub.

Harry studied the slight trembling that shivered through the protective barrier every few seconds with a critical eye. A minor loss of focus, perhaps? 'He's got the power and intent right,' Harry noted to Katie.

'So now that it's obvious that Neville can help, we want to know if you're interested in being part of the group,' Hermione announced, directing the question to the gathered students.

'How will it be run?' one of the Hufflepuffs asked.

'And what were Neville's stipulations?' inquired a curious Ravenclaw.

'I had three,' Neville began. 'They aren't negotiable; if you want to be helped, you'll have to accept them. Firstly, nobody tells Umbridge anything, as none of us want to spend any time in her office doing lines. Secondly, the locations and dates of meetings will be conveyed secretly and are to be kept a secret, along with the group's name and the names of the other members. Lastly, Harry Potter will be assisting me.'

'I'm not letting him use dark magic on me,' Smith shouted. 'I read about what he did to Malfoy.'

'Malfoy pretty much deserved it,' Ron snapped. 'I was there, and so were Angelina, Ginny, Katie, and my brothers. He thought it was funny to gloat over having deliberately hurt Katie and get in the way of getting her to the hospital wing.'

'Look on the bright side,' Katie piped up. 'You'll get very good at defending against the Dark Arts if Harry's helping.'

'Thanks, Katie,' Harry responded, letting sarcasm drip from his words.

'You're welcome,' she retorted with an innocent look and finished her drink.

'What's wrong with just learning from Neville?' Terry Boot demanded.

'Harry's the one who taught Neville,' Hermione explained. 'You're learning from him indirectly anyway.'

'Fine,' Smith sneered. 'But don't expect us to like it. I don't trust him.'

'It'll give you a good motive to work on your shield charm, Smith,' Neville said.

'So how are we doing this?' Terry Boot asked.

'Everyone who wants to join signs their name on this list,' Hermione stated, waving an unassuming piece of parchment in the air. 'Anyone else might as well leave now.'

Cho and a couple of students from Ravenclaw chose to depart, leaving the rest clumped around the table by the fire to add their names to the list.

Harry paused over the list, his mind briefly wandering to the blue flames of the Goblet of Fire and the consequences of ill-advised commitments. He ran his forefinger down the list of names, checking for any enchantments with his wand discreetly hidden in his sleeve. He sensed a soft, righteous anger saturating the magic that the parchment was steeped in, with a focus on betrayal. 'Hermione's not showing any mercy to anyone who talks,' he thought, 'but compared to Fleur's work, this is like crayon art. It only punishes direct betrayal.'

'Done,' Harry declared, signing his name with a flourish before rejoining Katie in the middle of the group.

'So how do we know when to meet and where?' someone inquired.

'That's easy,' Hermione replied with a radiant smile. 'You all get one of these.' She held out a box of familiar badges.

Neville paled at the sight of the badges.

S.P.E.W. Again. Harry grimaced, noting the not-so-ideal acronym.

'Since I had nothing to do with them, I've enchanted them with the Protean Charm,' Hermione explained. 'When Neville changes the numbers on the back of all the badges, it will change on all the others. The number will give you the time and date of the next meeting.'

'Do we have to, like, wear them?' Lavender muttered, skepticism in her voice.

Ron couldn't help but snigger at the thought.

'No,' Hermione sighed. 'But do try to be more careful about losing them this year than you were last year.'

'That's very clever,' Terry Boot acknowledged. 'But it doesn't tell us where to meet.'

Harry couldn't help but commend Hermione's ingenuity. 'She's done well. The Protean Charm is a NEWT level spell and quite versatile, actually. Maybe I'll have to learn it after all.'

Neville nodded in agreement. 'All our meetings will be held in the same place; you'll know where to come from the second time. But for the first, you should meet next to Hogwarts' worst tapestry on the seventh floor.'

'We need a name for the group,' one of the Weasley twins suggested.

'Ronniekins Rangers,' the other twin proposed, grinning. 'Or Hermione's Heroes.'

'How about something vaguely appropriate?' Angelina interrupted. 'And something that doesn't encourage your obsession with alliteration.'

'The Defence Club,' Zacharias Smith suggested.

'Well, it's a bit boring, isn't it?' one of the twins muttered.

'Obvious, too,' the other added. 'If someone gets overheard, Umbridge will be straight onto us.'

Harry's mind raced, recognizing the potential danger. If he were to become strongly implicated in the group, it could provide Umbridge with the pretext she needed to oust Dumbledore and put an end to his watchful eye over Harry. He smiled up at the ceiling, concealing his concerns. 'And Umbridge needs to go, too. Wouldn't it be perfect to get rid of them both using the same piece of parchment?'

'They should call it Dumbledore's Army,' Harry suggested, making sure his joke reached beyond just Katie. 'That's what the Ministry seems to think we're being turned into.'

Katie laughed and raised her hand. 'All in favor?'

Hermione smiled and joined in, raising her hand. 'Anyone else?'

Harry raised his hand amid the approving voices in the crowd. 'Partway there. Just need a good way to let Umbridge know, and some way of getting rid of her afterward.'

'Dumbledore's Army it is,' Hermione declared, writing the name in elegant, neat letters across the top of the list.

'You should tell them about the list, Hermione,' Ron suggested. 'Just in case.'

She frowned in thought. 'Yes, right. I've placed a few enchantments on the paper. They took me quite some time to look up and create. When you signed your names, you entered into a magical contract with the group. If you knowingly betray the rules you agreed to by staying, there'll be unpleasant consequences.'

Smith scowled. 'What kind of consequences?'

'Let's just say everyone will know who it was who betrayed us,' Neville replied sternly. 'You don't want to be that person.'

The box of badges began to circulate.

'I thought I'd escaped these last year,' Harry commented, choosing one for himself and passing another to Katie.

'It suits you,' she remarked. 'The green brings out your eyes.'

'Thank you,' Harry grinned. 'I shall wear it always.'

'So what are we going to be learning?' Terry Boot asked. 'Nobody actually specified.'

'I can help you learn everything that you'll find on the OWL exam,' Neville stated, shooting Harry a knowing glance. 'For those who want to be able to do a bit more, then Harry has taught me some very useful spells and knows a lot more.'

'Like what?' Smith asked, tensing up. 'I'm not learning anything dark.'

Harry couldn't help but roll his eyes.

'Dark ice curses,' Katie teased. 'Great for creating beautiful icicles and impaling vulnerable first years who stray too far from their common rooms.'

'The blasting curse,' Neville continued. 'The stunning spell. And a good few more, nothing remotely dark.'

'There is no light and dark,' Salazar's words echoed in Harry's mind. 'Only power and the intent that guides it.'

'The Patronus Charm,' Hermione added. 'Harry can cast a corporeal Patronus.'

Harry frowned, recalling the sluggish, vague shape he had produced in the Triwizard Tournament's maze. 'I can teach you the steps to cast it, but the form of your Patronus is quite personal, so I'd rather not display mine.'

'How do we know you can cast it, then?' Terry Boot inquired.

'Only light wizards can cast a Patronus,' Smith muttered.

Harry leaned across to Katie, whispering, 'Sorry, Katie. I think it's too late for you.'

She giggled. 'Oh well. Being evil's much more fun.'

'I've seen it,' Hermione snapped. 'We all have in third year!'

Neville then provided details for the first meeting. 'The first meeting will be in a week, at the same time as today. If you can't make it, keep an eye on your badges for the next one and follow other members to our location.' With a deft wave of his wand, he altered the numbers on the back of the badges to reflect the change in the meeting time.

A week to think of a way to get hold of that list, Harry mused, allowing himself a small smile. Fleur can teach me anything I might need to know for the next step.

The students began to drift out in small groups, chattering among themselves.

'What now?' Katie asked. 'Want to stay, or head back?'

'I don't have much of a choice. I've got that detention with Snape in his office today for an hour, and again every week for the foreseeable future whenever he can organize it.'

'I guess we should head back, then.' Katie stood up but stumbled over her chair.

'Too much to drink?' Harry quipped.

Katie scowled. 'No. I'm more careful now, after... well, you know when.'

'Yeah,' Harry murmured. 'I know.'

'Harry, wait!' Hermione hastily gathered her belongings into her bag, wincing at the sound of crumpling parchment, and jogged to catch them before they left.

'What?' Harry asked.

Hermione chewed at her lip. 'I spoke to Cedric about the third task. He says he remembers hearing the whistle and starting to run into the maze, then nothing until seeing you stun him.'

'That's unfortunate,' Harry said. 'He's the only other one who was there and conscious.'

'He does remember being told he was found unconscious next to Viktor and that his wand had been broken.' Hermione crossed her arms. 'It doesn't add up.'

'Someone interfered.'

'It doesn't make sense. His wand was snapped deliberately, but for no obvious reason.'

She's not going to let this go until Cedric is forced to remember what really happened, and I can't even dissuade her, because it will make me look suspicious.

'I only know what I saw,' Harry said.

'I know.' She sighed. 'I'm sorry to bring it up after everything that happened, but I need to know what happened to Viktor.'

'Most people who go digging don't find gold, Hermione,' Katie interjected.

Hermione glared and stalked off.

'Is that actually a saying?' Harry asked.

'I made it up,' Katie replied. 'I thought it sounded good.'

'I've heard worse.'

Katie brushed her hair off her face and fixed Harry with a searching look. 'What actually happened in the maze? You were answering her questions very carefully.'

'If you're worried I was responsible, don't be,' Harry said. 'I know exactly what happened, but I took a risk to protect someone. Her digging is going to undo that, and it's not going to benefit anyone. They'll get hurt, and nobody else will really be affected.'

'Cedric... You snapped his wand so nobody could see the spells it cast and stunned him,' she said, her face scrunching up. 'Why are you helping him if he killed someone? What don't I know?'

No accusations. He swallowed a small lump of emotion. I guess she really meant her promise, then.

'Cedric didn't do anything consciously. I Obliviated him to spare him a lot of guilt.'

'That was noble of you, Harry,' she teased. 'Still a Gryffindor at heart. I won't tell anyone, either, of course.'

'As brainless and reckless as they come,' Harry replied with a warm, half-smile. 'And thank you, Katie. I appreciate it.'

She beamed and turned a little red. 'So how come you're only teaching Neville and not me?'

He led her back toward the castle. 'There'd be an outcry from the lower years if anyone caught wind of me teaching you anything. You've terrified them all already. Imagine how they'd react if they thought I'd been teaching you Dark ice curses, too.'

'Angelina said you used the water-conjuring spell,' Katie murmured. 'I can't really remember, though.'

'I did,' Harry grinned. 'But didn't you read what Rita Skeeter said? It was clearly a very dark curse, so I must have tricked her.'

Katie pouted. 'You aren't going to tell me, are you?'

'It was an accident,' Harry explained. 'I wanted to drench him in water, but I was angry, and I think I did some Transfiguration by accident.'

'You must've been very angry about me being hurt to do accidental magic at fifteen, Harry,' Katie teased, batting her eyelashes and leaning into his side. 'Is there something you need to tell Frenchie?'

'Only that she should feel free to throw fire at you.'

'No seashell bra photos for you, then.' Katie turned toward the Owlery. 'I need to send a letter. Have fun scrubbing things for Snape.'

'I'm sure I will.'

Harry sighed and drifted through the corridors toward the dungeons. What a waste of time. I didn't even intend to hurt Malfoy, just shut him up and get him out of the way.

'You're late, Potter,' Snape drawled from within his office.

'I got held up because of Professor Umbridge,' Harry replied, glancing around the walls of the office. Gleaming jars of potion ingredients lined the black-painted walls from floor to ceiling. Ashwinder eggs... Dragon's blood... Dangerous stuff. Is Snape actually allowed to keep those here? Some first-year could wander in and drink them.

'The headmaster is concerned by your recent spate of behavior,' Snape's expression remained neutral. 'He believes there is a connection between you and the Dark Lord, and that his emotions are influencing you through it.'

A connection? Harry felt a little ice trickle through his veins. Are you sure he didn't mention anything about a piece of his soul being inside me?

'He has decided it would be prudent for me to teach you the mind arts and show you how to block out the Dark Lord's influence,' Snape continued, fixing Harry with a piercing stare.

Nice try. Harry avoided eye contact.

Snape's lips curled into the slightest of smiles. 'He mentioned that you had something of an interest in them, though I'm skeptical you have the emotional discipline required.'

Wait... Chill fingers groped their way down Harry's spine and into his gut. If he's teaching me, will he have the chance to see my thoughts and memories? I've come a long way, but my new technique hasn't been tested by anyone.

'How will you be teaching me?' he asked.

'I will attempt to breach your mind, and you will try to keep me out,' Snape explained, his tone dripping with sarcasm. 'It will doubtless be an unpleasant experience for both of us.'

Merde. Nobody must know about Fleur or what I know. Harry reached down inside, past the heat and bliss of blue eyes and silver hair, through cold, clear, frozen rage, to the void beneath. Now you can have me, emptiness. Swallow me whole, so there's nothing to feel or see.

Snape drew his wand. 'Clear your mind, Potter. However you can.'

Harry let the abyss claw away everything. A distant, dazed emptiness flooded him, as if he drowned in the shadows between the stars. Endless solitary moments trickled into it like spilled ink down parchment.

'Legilimens,' Snape hissed.

A stabbing pain erupted in Harry's temples. It's a long way away. Just pain. He fed it into the void with everything else. No more real than I am.

Snape flinched and gritted his teeth. A handful of images welled to the surface of the abyss: a flash of red light amidst tombstones, blood on the kitchen knife clutched in Harry's small hand, a glimmer of silver in the window of the Great Hall. The emptiness swallowed them back in with a vengeance.

'Bloody hell,' Snape broke the link and sagged over his desk.

'Sir?' Harry watched him release a long breath and draw himself up. 'Did something go wrong?'

'That was not proper Occlumency, Potter,' Snape spat. 'I've never met a wizard who defends his mind by creating such an unbearable feeling in which to trap their opponent.' His lips curled up again into that faint smile. 'It is quite unorthodox.'

'Thank you, sir,' Harry replied.

'How long have you been practicing the mind arts, Potter?' Snape asked.

'A little over a year,' Harry said. 'Once I understood the importance of focus and intent, I learnt some mental exercises in the Muggle world, then continued learning more once I discovered Occlumency.'

'Then you've come a very long way in a very short time.'

'It seems to come to me naturally,' Harry shrugged. 'Maybe I inherited a knack for it from my parents.'

I inherited it from somewhere.

Snape's upper lip curled. 'If you have, it wasn't from your father. James Potter didn't have the discipline or the subtlety that the mind arts require.'

'My mother, then,' Harry said. 'Or maybe it just skipped a generation.'

'You should be thankful you appear to be more like your mother than anyone realized,' Snape murmured. 'She was an excellent witch.'

Did he know her? Harry studied the soft gleam in Snape's eyes. They're about the same age, so they'd've been at Hogwarts together.

Snape drew himself up and pulled an even expression across his face. 'I was supposed to teach you how to occlude your mind from the influence of the Dark Lord, but it seems you're already completely capable so long as you know to do it and he is not standing before you.' Snape steepled his fingers. 'Unfortunately, the headmaster has insisted I keep you in detention for at least an hour every week until Christmas to help avoid external repercussions for your actions. We shall continue to practice your Occlumency. It is of the utmost importance you're able to resist the Dark Lord.'

'Thank you, sir,' Harry muttered.

Snape's lips twitched. 'You can go for today, Potter.'

As long as I keep this up, he won't learn anything I don't want him to. Harry stepped into the corridor. And I might be able to learn something about what Dumbledore's up to from–

'Potter,' Snape's face tightened, and his lips paled. 'It's reassuring to see that you have not wasted as many years here as I thought. Your mother would be proud of your recent improvements. Don't slide back into acting like your contemptible father.'

So he did know her. A few questions hovered on the tip of his tongue, then a bright flash of green light flickered through his thoughts. It doesn't matter. They're dead. And it's time to push things on. Voldemort and Dumbledore aren't waiting for me.

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