Chapter 55
Fifth Year Begins
As Lily, Ginny, Hermione, Ron, Lavender, and Parvati sat in a cabin on the Hogwarts Express, they were going over plans for the DA. "I've always wondered about cooking and cleaning spells. Think the others will go for it?" Parvati asked.
"Well, it's basic studies, and whilst we'll also learn some defensive spells, we can use it as a cover so if anyone like Malfoy sends someone to spy on us, they'll see us learning to cook and clean with magic," Lily replied, smiling.
"Plus, we'll be able to enjoy cakes, Lily makes amazing cakes," Ron grinned. Lily had made a cake for the group to enjoy on the train, which they had already finished.
"Room of Requirement is gonna need to be a lot bigger this year," Lavender commented, before kissing Ron. "I've missed you."
"I missed you too. Did you have fun on holiday?" Ron asked. Lavender nodded, smiling.
"Lily, I should warn you, this isn't going to be an easy year," Parvati said. "I wasn't sure how to tell you this, but I heard from Dean Thomas, and he told me that his parents were considering pulling him out of Hogwarts, because his parents think you're…well…"
"Are they mental? What the hell, Dean is supposed to be Lily's friend!" Ron exclaimed.
"He is! Don't think badly of Dean, he argued with his parents about how he believes you when you say You-Know-Who is back, but there's going to be others who won't believe you," Parvati assured her.
"Not exactly a new experience then, just gonna be the same as last year, isn't it?" Lily asked, rolling her eyes.
"How does it feel, being the new Prefects?" Lavender asked, smiling at Ron. Lily flashed her a grateful smile for changing the subject. Lavender returned the smile with a wink. "I'm so proud of you."
"I don't know, it doesn't feel real yet," Ron replied, looking at his badge.
"I still think Lily should have been named Prefect instead of me," Hermione insisted.
"I'm gonna be too busy this year, with the DA and the OttD," Lily pointed out, as the door opened, with a girl coming in. She had blond hair, and an almost… distant look in her eyes. She was followed by Neville.
"Can we join you?" the girl asked, smiling at Ginny.
"Of course you can, Luna," Ginny said, as Hermione and Ron stood up.
"We'll be back shortly, Prefect's meeting," Hermione said. Lily smiled at them as they left.
"Luna, this is Lily. Lily, this is my friend, Luna Lovegood, she's in my class," Ginny explained.
"You're Lily Potter," Luna said, smiling.
"Last I checked I was," Lily confirmed, smiling.
"How was your summer, Luna?" Ginny asked.
"It was quite enjoyable, thank you," Luna replied. She told them a little of their holiday, with Neville then showing off his new plant, a Mimbulus Mimbletonia, a rare plant which he hoped to breed, showing off the stink sap defence. Lily was able to quickly call up a shield charm, which prevented everyone but Neville from being struck with the sap.
"Sorry Neville," Lily said sheepishly. "I thought I'd managed to cover you as well."
"It's… it's okay," Neville coughed, as Ginny helped use magic to clean up the mess, just as Cho came to the cabin.
"Hi Cho," Lily greeted her friend. "How was your holiday?"
"It was great, thank you. I spent some time with Cedric, and I had fun with my family," Cho replied. She frowned as she sniffed the air. "What happened?"
"Stink sap," Neville explained, as Ginny magicked away the last of it.
"You'll be in the DA, right?" Lily asked, smiling.
"Wouldn't miss it," Cho replied.
"The DA?" Luna asked.
"We've set up a group called Dumbledore's Army," Ginny explained. "We'll be working together to train and learn to defend ourselves, but also to take care of ourselves, cooking, cleaning spells, stuff like that."
"Can… can anyone join?" Neville asked meekly. Lily smiled.
"Neville, I'd love it if you were there with us," Lily told him.
"Really?" Neville perked up.
"Of course, you're our friend, and it'll be fun," Lily told him.
"I'd like to join," Luna said, almost absent-mindedly.
"Absolutely. The more the merrier," Ginny told her. The group talked about the DA, continuing as Ron and Hermione returned to the cabin. Lily was annoyed to learn that Malfoy was a Prefect, as was Pansy Parkinson. Hufflepuff's Prefect's were Hannah Abbot and Ernie Macmillan, with Anthony Goldstein and Parvati's sister Padma for Ravenclaw.
"Great, as if Malfoy wasn't already a pain in the ass," Cho rolled her eyes. "Cedric said that Professor Dumbledore has confirmed that the DA is going to be an official group?"
"Yeah, he liked the idea. He was touched by the name," Lily smiled.
"Cedric spoke about the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. I don't think anyone's looking forward to this year," Cho said, leaning back in her seat.
"No, from what I hear, this woman is going to hate us, she hates anyone who isn't pure blood, and I doubt she'll be wanting to teach us proper Defence lessons. According to Uncle Sirius, she'll likely be trying to make us do very little physical or practical work," Lily said. "The Ministry is afraid that Dumbledore will create his own army."
"In which case, the name Dumbledore's Army is perfect," Ginny grinned, as the group laughed. Their smiles faded when Malfoy opened the door to the cabin, with Crabbe and Goyle behind him.
"What do you want, Malfoy?"
"Manners, Potter, or I'll have to give you a detention," Malfoy drawled, smirking. "You see, I, unlike you, have been made a prefect, which means that I, unlike you, have the power to hand out punishments."
"But you, unlike me, are a git, so get the hell out of here," Lily snapped. "Or are you here on behalf of your dad's boss?"
Malfoy's eyes narrowed at Lily as she smirked. "You should watch what you say this year Potter, you won't always be protected by Dumbledore."
"Like I need anyone to protect myself against you, Malfoy. I showed Voldemort up and messed up his return, bet that had to sting," Lily replied, not breaking eye contact. "What makes you think you compare to him?"
"If I were you, I'd be ready to leave the school by the end of this year, because changes are coming Potter, and freaks like you won't be tolerated anymore," Malfoy said bitterly. Before he could say anything, everyone except Luna had their wands out and pointed at Malfoy. Luna was clearly distracted by something invisible that was apparently on Malfoy's head.
"You might want to think about what comes out of that mouth of yours, Malfoy," Cho warned.
"Remember those slugs? I can make them snails next time, or even frogs," Ron added. Malfoy glared at them before backing from the cabin and leaving, sneering as he did.
"He really isn't the greatest thinker in the world, is he? Or even in the school," Hermione commented.
"He's got the intelligence of a baboon's bottom," Ron added. Everyone turned to Luna as she burst out laughing.
"Luna?" Ginny asked, frowning.
"Ba… baboon's bottom… you are so funny," Luna gasped, grinning as she laughed. Everyone in the cabin began to laugh with her.
When they reached Hogsmeade station, Lily, Ron, and Hermione were shocked to see that Hagrid wasn't there for the first year, but there was a woman none of them knew. "That's Professor Grubbly-Plank, we had her briefly three years ago when Professor Kettleburn was away in Care of Magical Creatures," Cho explained.
"Where's Hagrid?" Lily asked, frowning.
"You don't think he's been hurt, do you?" Ron asked.
"No, it's likely he could still be doing whatever mission Dumbledore sent him on, although I still want to know what that it," Lily mused. "I hope he'll be back soon."
"Probably," Ginny tried to reassure Lily as they reached the carriages that would take them to the school. Lily froze, as did Ginny.
"What… what the hell are they?" Lily asked.
"I have no idea," Ginny replied.
"What are… what?" Ron asked, frowning as he looked at the carriages. "The carriages?"
"No, the animals connected to them," Ginny replied. "They look similar to horses, but they seem… darker… and they have wings."
"At least I'm not the only one who sees them," Lily said.
"Are you both okay? There's nothing there," Ron said. Lily took his hand and placed it on the back of the creature. Ron jumped in shock
"Merlin's beard!" he exclaimed. "Hermione, come and feel this, there is something here!"
Hermione joined Ron and carefully reached out her hand. "What… what is this?"
"I don't know, but I'll bet you find out before the end of the day," Ron said, as he, Lily, Ginny, and Hermione climbed into one of the carriages, which began to move. "This is definitely very weird," Ron said, looking out of the window.
"I'll ask Professor McGonagall when we get to school," Hermione confirmed as she sat back. "I've not heard of any creature that can be seen by some people."
"And why haven't we seen them before?" Ginny asked, frowning.
"Good question, but we'll figure it out eventually," Lily said, smiling at her as she kissed Ginny's hand.
As the students sat in the Great Hall, enjoying the feast, Lily noted the people at the top table, including not only the Grubbly-Plank woman, who Lily guessed was a stand in for Hagrid whilst he was away, but another woman she had never seen before.
She looked, in Lily's opinion, like an aunt that was disliked in muggle television shows: squat, with short, curly, mouse-brown hair, which had a pink bow, which matched the horrible, fluffy, pink cardigan she wore over her robes. She also had a pallid, toad-like face and a pair of prominent, pouchy eyes.
"That must be the Umbridge woman Sirius mentioned," Lily whispered. She was already unsure about Dumbledore's opening announcement, about unity between the houses, especially with Malfoy already abusing his position as a Prefect.
After the food had been finished, and had been cleared away, Dumbledore stood up and began his other announcements, including introducing Grubbly-Plank, and Professor Umbridge, who would be the new Defence Against the Dark Arts
What surprised Lily, and everyone else, was that in the middle of Professor Dumbledore's speech, Umbridge looked at him. "Hem, hem," she coughed slightly, which Lily guessed was her way of butting in, wanting to say something. She wondered how Dumbledore would react: several of the professors were surprised, and her Aunt Minnie was furious; her mouth was as thin as she had ever seen it.
Lily wasn't surprised at the reaction; no teacher had ever interrupted Dumbledore before. Several students were smirking, all waiting for a response because they wanted to see Dumbledore tell her off. However, Dumbledore simply looked taken aback for a moment, before sitting down smartly to let her speak. That was the part that shocked Lily most.
"Thank you, Headmaster, for those kind words of welcome," Umbridge's voice was high-pitched, breathy, and a little girlish, and in that moment, Lily felt a surge of hatred for the women, especially since she had been the one to make things harder for Uncle Remus getting a job or doing anything helpful in society.
She spoke of being happy to be back at Hogwarts, and how she wanted to be friends with everyone – to which Parvati whispered about being friends as long as she didn't need to borrow her cardigan – and after clearing her throat again after another 'Hem, Hem' she continued her speech.
"The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. The rare gifts with which you were born may come to nothing if not nurtured and honed by careful instruction. The ancient skills unique to the Wizarding community must be passed down through the generations lest we lose them forever. The treasure trove of magical knowledge amassed by our ancestors must be guarded, replenished, and polished by those who have been called to the noble profession of teaching."
Lily was paying attention, not for what she was saying, but for what she wasn't saying. Lily looked at the others.
"Anyone else feel like she's now abusing the notion of being insincere at this point? Because that's just… urgh," Lily whispered. Umbridge then continued speaking.
"Every headmaster and headmistress of Hogwarts has brought something new to the weighty task of governing this historic school, and that is as it should be, for without progress there will be stagnation and decay. Then again, progress for progress's sake must be discouraged, for our tried and tested traditions often require no tinkering. A balance, then, between old and new, between permanence and change, between tradition and innovation,"
Lily glared at the woman, now fully aware of what she was saying: she knew this woman was going to be trouble.
"We're in trouble," Lily whispered bitterly, before looking back at Umbridge.
". . . because some changes will be for the better, while others will come, in the fullness of time, to be recognized as errors of judgment. Meanwhile, some old habits will be retained, and rightly so, whereas others, outmoded and outworn, must be abandoned. Let us move forward, then, into a new era of openness, effectiveness, and accountability, intent on preserving what ought to be preserved, perfecting what needs to be perfected, and pruning wherever we find practices that ought to be prohibited."
After the feast, Lily, Ginny, Ron, Lavender, Parvati, and Hermione sat in the common room with Fred, George, Lee Jordan, Katie Bell, and Angelina Johnson. "We're definitely running the DA, no matter what that cow says," Lily said bitterly.
"I thought her speech was very illuminating," Hermione commented.
"You can't say you enjoyed it," Ron commented, rolling his eyes.
"No, Ronald, I didn't," Hermione replied.
"No, it means that if you listened carefully, then she was clear about what's happening," Lily said. "Progress for progress's sake must be discouraged? Pruning wherever we find practices that out to be prohibited?"
"You don't mean…" Ron started. Lily nodded, as did Hermione.
"She does," Hermione confirmed. "Whatever they're planning, the Ministry, and Umbridge, are interfering at Hogwarts."
