No, you are not dreaming. Your eyes do not deceive you! It really is 2 chapters in one day! Yes, I thought the last 2 chapters were pretty short and that I hadn't spent long enough on writing today, so here's a bonus. Aren't you all lucky?
I didn't tell anyone about the idea of Harry teaching us Defense for two weeks after the conversation. It wouldn't be a good idea to get people's hopes up, only for him to say no. So we continued to struggle through Umbridge's classes, though the constant thought of what could possibly be coming was a big help in being able to bear them. Other positives included Quidditch, which was as successful as ever in the first team's case, and improving massively in the reserves. Ron had stepped it up, he'd gone the previous 2 reserve practices without being shouted at once. I was also progressing pretty well in other classes, managing to successfully turn my hedgehog into a pincushion in Transfiguration (naturally, being the first in the class to do so).
A couple days before the first Hogsmeade trip of the year, Hermione approached me and said that I should tell anyone interested in being taught by Harry to meet them in the Hog's Head that weekend.
"You mean he said he'll definitely do it?" I asked
"Well..." Hermione bit her lip "yes he did, I'm just hoping he doesn't get put off when a lot of people inevitably show up"
"Yeah that is a worry, but oh well, we'll just have to see. Why the Hog's Head though, that's a pretty unpleasant place usually"
"We need to go somewhere that isn't busy, so people don't find out what we're up to, in particular, Umbridge"
I shuddered. "Yeah good idea, I dread to think what the consequences could be if she found out"
Here is a list of every single person that showed up to the Hog's Head that day:
Me, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Demelza, Amy, everyone else on both Gryffindor Quidditch Teams, Luna, Magda, Mary, Stefan, Neville, Dean, Lavender, Seamus, Cho, her friend Marietta Edgecombe, Padma and Pavarti Patil, Colin and Dennis Creevey, Ernie Macmillan, Justin Finch Fletchley, Hannah Abbott, Susan Bones, Ritchie Crouch, Matilda, Thomas Cochran, Anthony Goldstein, Michael Corner (who I was for some reason portrayed as dating in this school year, that never happened) Terry Boot, Zacharias Smith and Lee Jordan.
I have to give Harry credit for not trying to back out right away, it was well known how much he hated attention like this. He did seem a bit overwhelmed though.
"What does Matilda need to be here for, she probably knows it better than I do!" said Harry
"Nah, she's only third year, she won't know the stuff you do, despite how brilliant she is" I replied "she will probably master it quicker than the rest of us though"
It was not at all like the Three Broomsticks, whose large bar gave an impression of gleaming warmth and cleanliness. The Hog's Head bar comprised one small, dingy, and very dirty room that smelled strongly of something that might have been goats. The bay windows were so encrusted with grime that very little daylight could permeate the room, which was lit instead with the stubs of candles sitting on rough wooden tables. The floor seemed at first glance to be earthy, though as I stepped onto it I realized that there was stone beneath what seemed to be the accumulated filth of centuries. I very much hoped I never had to come in here again.
There was a man at the bar whose whole head was wrapped in dirty gray bandages, though he was still managing to gulp endless glasses of some smoking, fiery substance through a slit over his mouth. Two figures shrouded in hoods sat at a table in one of the windows; I might have thought them dementors if they had not been talking in strong Yorkshire accents; in a shadowy corner beside the fireplace sat a witch with a thick, black veil that fell to her toes. I could just see the tip of her nose because it caused the veil to protrude slightly.
After Fred and George had bought butterbeers, everyone gathered around Harry, Ron and Hermione.
Every eye was upon Harry.
"Er," said Hermione, her voice slightly higher than usual out of nerves. "Well — er — hi." The group focused its attention on her instead, though eyes continued to dart back regularly to Harry. "Well . . . erm . . . well, you know why you're here. Erm . . . well, Harry here had the idea — I mean" — Harry had thrown her a sharp look — "I had the idea — that it might be good if people who wanted to study Defense Against the Dark Arts — and I mean, really study it, you know, not the rubbish that Umbridge is doing with us" — (Hermione's voice became suddenly much stronger and more confident) — "because nobody could call that Defense Against the Dark Arts" —
"Hear, hear," said Anthony Goldstein, and Hermione looked heartened —
"well, I thought it would be good if we, well, took matters into our own hands."
"Absolutely" I said "something needs to be done, we can't keep going on without learning proper defence, it's ridiculous". I felt that any help I could give to big this up would be beneficial, it couldn't be understated how important this was, with what was going on outside the vicinity of Hogwarts.
Hermione looked sideways at Harry, and went on, "And by that I mean learning how to defend ourselves properly, not just theory but the real spells —"
"You want to pass your Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L. too though, I bet?" said Michael Corner.
"Of course I do," said Hermione at once. "But I want more than that, I want to be properly trained in Defense because . . . because . . ." She took a great breath and finished, "Because Lord Voldemort's back."
"And if anyone's here to dispute that claim, or give Harry a hard time in any way, you might as well fuck off right now, because we're not having any of that shit here!" I said fiercely. "I would suggest not trying unless you want a very quick and brutal demonstration of a Bat Bogey Hex"
No one made a sound. Everyone present knew I was a force to be reckoned with and how much I cared about Harry. They wouldn't dare. Harry gave me a look of love and extreme appreciation.
"That's what I thought" I said, though I still had my fingers wrapped tightly around my wand just in case.
"So," said Hermione, her voice very high-pitched again. "So . . . like I was saying . . . if you want to learn some defense, then we need to work out how we're going to do it, how often we're going to meet, and where we're going to —"
"Is it true," interrupted Susan, "that you can produce a Patronus?" There was a murmur of interest around the group at this.
"Yeah," said Harry slightly defensively.
"A corporeal Patronus?"
"Er — you don't know Madam Bones, do you?"
The girl smiled. "She's my auntie," she said. "I'm Susan Bones. She told me about your hearing. So — is it really true? You make a stag Patronus?"
"Yes," said Harry.
"Blimey, Harry!" said Lee, looking deeply impressed. "I never knew that!"
I laughed "yes you did, everyone in this room does. We all saw him produce it at that Quidditch game 2 years ago, where those Slytherin twats dressed up as Dementors. Lee, you should know more than anyone, you were on commentary that day, in fact, I remember McGonagall really wasn't happy with your choice of words!"
"Oh yeah, still, it's bloody impressive though!"
"I didn't see it" said Matilda "I wasn't at Hogwarts at the time, I wish I could have though, it sounds incredible!"
"Same here" said Ritchie
"I wasn't at that game, I was in the hospital wing" said Susan, "so don't blame me for asking"
"And did you kill a basilisk with that sword in Dumbledore's office?" demanded Terry Boot. "That's what one of the portraits on the wall told me when I was in there last year. . . ."
"Er — yeah, I did, yeah," said Harry.
Justin Finch-Fletchley whistled, the Creevey brothers exchanged awestruck looks, and Lavender Brown said "wow" softly
"And in our first year," said Neville to the group at large, "he saved that Philosophy Stone-"
"Philosopher's" hissed Hermione.
"Yes, that, from You-Know-Who," finished Neville.
Hannah Abbott's eyes were as round as Galleons.
"And that's not to mention," said Cho "all the tasks he had to get through in the Triwizard Tournament last year — getting past dragons and merpeople and acromantulas and things. . . ."
There was a murmur of impressed agreement around the table.
"So are we all in agreement that we want to take lessons from Harry?" asked Hermione
