Chapter 12
Defense Against The Dark Arts
(Opening song. Danger Danger by FZMZ feat. icy.)
(Sunday Evening)
There was a gentle knock on the door. Harry looked around and saw that Ginny, Neville, Fred, Geroge, Cho, Lavender, and Dean had arrived.
"Whoa!" said Dean, staring around, impressed. "What is this place?"
"Well," said Harry, slightly nervously. "This is the place we've found for practice sessions, and you've - er - obviously found it."
'It's fantastic!' said Cho, as the rest of them nodded in agreement.
"Bloody hell," the twins said in unison as they sat on a cushion. "It's bizarre," said Fred, scanning his eyes around the room. "We once hid from Filch in here, remember, George? But it was just a broom cupboard then."
"Yeah, not complaining though. These are comfy Fred," George said who already took a seat on one of the cushions.
"Good place to take a nap I reckon" Fred answered
"Hey, Harry, what's this stuff?" asked Dean from the rear of the room, indicating the Sneakoscopes and the Foe-Glass.
"Dark detectors," said Harry, stepping between the cushions to reach them. "Basically, they all show when Dark wizards or enemies are around, but you don't want to rely on them too much, they can be fooled…"
He gazed for a moment into the cracked Foe-Glass; shadowy figures were moving around inside it, though none was recognizable. He turned his back on it.
"So I guess that begs the question, why are we here?" Ginny asked as she sat on a cushion.
"Right, yeah." Harry thought for a moment how best to explain. "Well, we thought it would be good if we could do some practical Defense Against the Dark Arts, you know, get some experience of what it's really like to have someone use dark spells against us."
Fred and George, sitting next to each other, glanced at each other and then got to their feet.
"Sounds like what we've been waiting for!" said Fred enthusiastically.
"You certainly aren't wrong there bro" George replied.
"We figured since Umbridge trying to restrain our magic, we should just teach ourselves, and I believe Harry is the right person for the job," Hermoine said enthusiastically.
"It's obvious that Harry's the right person," said Cho at once, looking at Hermione as though she were mad.
Harry's stomach did a backflip as his cheeks flushed red.
"Of course, but I think we ought to vote on it properly," said Hermione, unperturbed. "It makes it formal and it gives him authority. So -everyone who thinks Harry ought to be our leader?"
Everyone's hand shot up immediately.
"Majority rules. Harry, you're it." George said as he clapped Harry on the back.
"Er - right, thanks," said Harry, who could feel his face burning.
"There's also another reason I thought this group was a good idea," Hermoine said. "We believe a group of dark wizards has infiltrated Hogwarts as students, two of them are transfers"
"Wait, what?" said Ginny, sitting up straight
"You mean there are death eaters here, at Hogwarts?" Dean asked, his eyes wide with shock.
"No, we think these three have their agenda separate from Voldemort," Hermoine said.
"Who are they, then?" Neville asked
"We've been calling The Dark Triad" Ron interjected.
Hermione rolled her eyes "That's what Ron has been calling them"
"Hey, I think it's a good name." Ron protested
"That's because you came up with it," Ginny teased which got an offended look from Ron.
" Yeah, it is a bit corny, ain't it," George chimed in.
Ron huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. "Yeah, well, how about you two gits come up with something better then."
Fred and George both opened their mouths to speak before Hermione cut across them.
"Anyway," she said forcefully. "Yes, it's a stupid name, but the fact remains that- can't believe I'm saying this- that The Dark Triad is a dangerous group."
Everyone in the room suddenly shut up and stared at her, waiting to hear more.
"We don't know much about them," Hermione continued. "We don't know what their end game is either, or why they're here at Hogwarts. All we know is that they've been purposely provoking Umbridge which has resulted in these 'Educational Decrees'."
There was a collective, outraged gasp among the group.
"You mean they're the reason Umbridge has been terrorizing us for the last few weeks?" Neville exclaimed, his usually mild-mannered expression turning into one of disbelief.
"To some degree yes. We think one of the members of the Triad assaulted her with a brick in the middle of class with their magic. Since then, she's become increasingly more hostile and draconian with her rules." Hermoine explained
"I remember hearing about that! Bloody brilliant!" exclaimed Fred, grinning "It's the best thing I heard all year!"
"Yeah, I don't know how I'd feel if I suddenly got hit by a flying brick" laughed George
Hermione let out a deep sigh, her expression full of irritation. "Not the point you two," she said narrowing her eyes at the twins. "The point is that we think they're trying to sow division in the school, by provoking Umbridge. The more her patience thins, the more authoritarian she gets."
Dean nodded in agreement with Hermione "It's like a domino effect," he said. "The more they make it look like the student body, meaning us, violently rebels against her. The more she tightens her grip, they're taking advantage of the situation. "
Hermoine nodded back at Dean's observation. "Exactly," she agreed. "It's a vicious cycle. They're using Umbridge's authoritarian tendencies to further their own goals, and she's is playing right into their hands."
"It's the reason we have to lay some ground rules on who we recruit to our group. We can't risk one of Umbridges agents or a member of the Triad finding out about us" Harry added
Everyone looked intrigued by that statement, apart from Ron who rolled his eyes.
"Rules? There are rules?" Fred asked.
"The only reason why is cause we don't need one of them infiltrating our group. The only thing we do know about them is that one is Slytherin, and the other two are transfer students." Harry said.
"So what are the rules then?" asked Dean.
"Just two rules, no transfers, no Slytherins," Harry said
"I get the no Slytherins, but no transfers, even if they're in our own house ?" Ginny asked
"We don't know what houses the other two members are in. For all we know one of the members of The Triad is in Gryffindor" Hermoine explained
There was a murmur of disbelief from everyone in the room. "So you're telling me…" said Cho "that there could be a dark wizard in our own house, at this very moment?"
"Unfortunately that's the case," Harry said with a hardened expression.
Everyone was quiet for a moment, looking worried and contemplating the possibility of one of them being in their house.
"Well that's terrifying…" Dean said, looking pale.
Harry couldn't help but agree. The thought of one of them being in the same house as them had made him worry slightly, yet he pushed the thought to the back of his mind.
"Well…speaking of names, maybe we should give our group a name," Ginny said trying to lighten the mood.
"That's a good idea. It would promote a feeling of team spirit and unity, don't you think?"
"Can we be the Anti-Umbridge League?' asked Lavander hopefully.
"Or the Ministry of Magic are Morons Group?" suggested Fred.
"I was thinking," said Hermione, frowning at Fred, "more of a name that didn't tell everyone what we were up to, so we can refer to it safely outside meetings."
"The Defence Association?" said Cho. "The DA for short, so nobody knows what we're talking about?"
"Yeah, the DA's good," said Ginny. "Only let's make it stand for Dumbledore's Army because that's the Ministry's worst fear, isn't it?" There was a good deal of appreciative murmuring and laughter at this.
"All in favor of the DA?" said Hermione bossily, walking up to one of the walls. "That's a majority - motion passed!"
She pinned the piece of parchment with all of their signatures on it onto the wall and wrote across the top in large letters: DUMBLEDORES ARMY
"Right,' said Harry, when she had sat down again, "shall we get practicing then? I was thinking, the first thing we should do is Expelliarmus, you know, the Disarming Charm. I know it's pretty basic but I've found it really useful"
As the hours ticked by the group learned to cast the spell. At first, they all struggled, save for Harry, Ron, and Hermoine. However, under their guidance, everyone soon got the hang of the spell. Harry mainly partnered with Cho but occasionally went around to help the others whenever he needed to. After some time had passed, Hermoine looked to Harry to check the time.
"Hey, Harry," Hermione called from the other end of the room, "have you checked the time?"
He looked down at his watch and was shocked to see it was already ten past nine, which meant they needed to get back to their common rooms immediately or risk being caught and punished by Filch for being out of bounds. He blew his whistle; everybody stopped shouting
"Expelliannus" and the last couple of wands clattered to the floor.
"Well, that was pretty good," said Harry, "but we've overrun, we'd better leave it here. Same time, same place next week?"
"Sooner!" said Dean Thomas eagerly and many people nodded in agreement.
"Let's say next Wednesday night, then. Ron, the twins, and I still have Quidditch practice and next Saturday is our game against Slytherin" said Harry, "we can decide on additional meetings then. Come on, we'd better get going."
He pulled out the Marauder's Map again and checked it carefully for signs of teachers on the seventh floor. He let them all leave in threes and fours, watching their tiny dots anxiously to see that they returned safely to their dormitories: the Hufflepuffs to the basement corridor that also led to the kitchens; the Ravenclaws to a tower on the west side of the castle, and the Gryffindors along the corridor to the Fat Lady's portrait.
"That was really, really good, Harry," said Hermione, when finally it was just her, Harry, and Ron who were left.
"You think it was a good idea to keep them in the dark about Yuno though?" Ron asked. Harry's expression became a bit hardened at the mention of him.
"I think we said enough for them to be aware, but not put them in any danger, I don't want anyone facing him alone," Harry said.
"Right, they're not exactly Auroa's Ron. It's best to wait for the right time to start going after him. For right now, getting around Umbridge is the top priority" Hermoine reasoned.
"Yeah, guess you're right," Ron shrugged "But what about the other two members of the Triad, shouldn't we at least try to figure out who they are?"
"It'd be easier to just avoid them for now," Harry sighed. "I don't want to go playing cat and mouse to find them when Umbridge and the Inquisitorial Squad are pretty much patrolling the halls all the time."
"Yeah, I agree," Hermione added. "We'll let them make themselves known and go from there."
"You're right as usual, I just hope they keep themselves for now", said Ron tiredly. "Did you see me disarm Hermione, Harry?"
"Only once," said Hermione, stung. "I got you loads more than you got me -"
"I did not only get you once, I got you at least three times -"
"'Well, if you're counting the one where you tripped over your own feet and knocked the wand out of my hand -"
They argued all the way back to the common room, but Harry was not listening to them. He had one eye on the Marauder's Map, but he was also thinking of Cho and his time together with her today.
(Several days later)
Harry felt as though he were carrying some kind of talisman inside his chest over the following two weeks, a glowing secret that supported him through Umbridge's classes and even made it possible for him to smile blandly as he looked into her horrible bulging eyes. He and the DA were resisting her under her very nose, doing the very thing she and the Ministry most feared, and whenever he was supposed to be reading Wilbert Slinkhard's book during her lessons he dwelled instead on satisfying memories of their most recent meetings, remembering how Neville had successfully disarmed Hermione, or managing to recruit others such as Colin Creevey, Parvati Patil, and even Angelina Johnson, the Quidditch captain for Gryffindor.
However, they were running into a problem setting up regular meetings for the DA due to accommodating three separate team's Quidditch practices, which were often rearranged due to bad weather conditions. Hermoine thought of a clever idea.
"You see the numerals around the edge of the coins?" Hermione said, holding one up for examination at the end of their fourth meeting. The coin gleamed fat and yellow in the light from the torches.
"On real Galleons that's just a serial number referring to the goblin who cast the coin. On these fake coins, though, the numbers will change to reflect the time and date of the next meeting. The coins will grow hot when the date changes, so if you're carrying them in a pocket you'll be able to feel them. We take one each, and when Harry sets the date of the next meeting he'll change the numbers on his coin, and because I've put a Protean Charm on them, they'll all change to mimic his-"
A blank silence greeted Hermione's words. She looked around at all the faces upturned to her, rather disconcerted. "Um...questions?"
"You can do a Protean Charm?" said Dean Thomas
'Yes,' said Hermione.
"But that's… that's NEWT standard, that is," he said weakly.
"Oh," she said trying to look modest. "Oh… well… yes, I suppose it is."
"Seriously how are you not in Ravenclaw?" Cho asked looking rather impressed with the coin.
"The Sorting Hat was having a hard time between the two houses. It told me to pick a number one through six, and… here I am in Gryffindor" Hermoine said nonchalantly.
"Least these won't burn our skins, like Voldemort's death marks," Ron said looking at the coin.
"Yeah… I prefer your way," said Harry, grinning, as he slipped his Galleon into his pocket. "I suppose the only danger with these is that we might accidentally spend them."
"Fat chance," said Ron, who was examining his own fake Galleon with a slightly mournful air. "I haven't got any real Galleons to confuse it with."
"Running short on money again little bro?" Fred teased
"Shove off," Ron muttered. "You're always the same, aren't you, you two? Picking on me because I'm not as swotty as you'd like me to be."
"We're not picking on you," said George, grinning as he ruffled Ron's hair.
"We're just trying to encourage you to reach your full intellectual potential." Fred followed.
"Alright I think that's enough for today," Harry said "We'll be reviewing 'Confringo' next time we meet"
"Yeah!" said Fred enthusiastically, "Nothing like a bit of 'Confringo' to warm up the old wand arm!"
"I would not recommend using 'Confringo' on anything you're not supposed to blow up," Hermione said, with a disapproving look.
The DA members began packing up their things, talking amongst themselves and looking excited at the thought of a lesson on offensive spells. Some, such as Fred and George, were particularly excited at the prospect. Harry Ron, and Hermoine were the last to leave, as Hermoine wanted to bring a few books with her.
"Vespera" Hermoine turned around after suddenly hearing the whisper in her ear.
"Did you guys hear that!?" she asked spooked. Harry and Ron tilted their heads.
"Hear what?" Harry asked
"I thought I heard someone whisper in my ear," said Hermoine, spinning around to scan the room. "Did neither of you hear that?"
"We didn't hear anything," said Ron.
Harry nodded in agreement. "I think it's just your imagination, Hermoine."
"But I swear I just heard someone whisper in my ear," she said still scanning the room frantically.
"Who would be whispering in your ear?" Ron asked rather annoyed. "No one else is in the room."
"I know, I know, but I— oh never mind. I suppose I'm just imagining things. Come on let's go" she said in a huff as she walked ahead of Ron and Harry
"Maybe all this secret meeting and practicing is getting to you," teased Ron. "Just like the Yule Ball was making you mad."
Hermione shot him back an icy glare, and he and Harry chuckled.
As the door to the Room of Requirements closed, they failed to notice a figure dressed in white robes watching them leave from the corner of the room.
(Earlier in the Headmaster's Office)
Dumbledore was sitting by his desk, going through some paperwork. He had a lot to deal with since Dolores Umbridge had become the High Inquisitor of Hogwarts, along with several complaints from students about the house cup being ruined thanks to the Inquisitorial Squad abusing their power. He sighed as he looked at the complaint about 15 points deducted from Hufflepuff for simply coughing in the middle of class. Just then he heard footsteps coming up the spiral staircase that led to his office. He looked up as Severus Snape walked in, and a warm smile appeared on his face
"Ah, Severus my old friend. What can I do for you?" Dumbledore asked with a twinkle in his eye.
"I assume Remus and Sirius have already told you about Grindelwald's disappearance from Nummungard?" Severus asked in his usual drool tone.
Dumbledore nodded gravely, his smile fading as he regarded Severus with a look of concern.
"They have indeed. This is highly troubling news. Our world has enough challenges as it is." he said
"And I assume they gave the report that the evidence points to the Death Eaters being responsible" Severus added
"Yes. They did. It is truly concerning to think that Voldemort has managed to free Grindelwald from Nummungard. I fear the worst old friend." Dumbledore said his hands folded together and nodding solemnly.
"Unfortunately, I fear the disappearance is more troubling than we expected. At least to my knowledge, The Dark Lord never ordered his followers to free Grindelwald from his imprisonment" Severus said, his voice becoming more dreaded.
Dumbledore's eyes widened in surprise at this revelation. "You don't believe he ordered the Death Eaters to free Grindelwald? Do you have another theory, then?" he said a look of concern crossed his face.
"I believe whoever did this, wanted to pin the blame on him," Severus said his eyes narrowing at the thought of a third faction now involved in the wizarding war.
"You're suggesting a ruse, then. Someone deliberately using Voldemort's name to shift the blame. The question is, who would have the motive and the means for such a deception?" Dumbledore asked his voice more pensive as he considered Sevrus' words. He sat back in his seat, his eyes never breaking contact with Severus.
"I have no idea, but they're powerful enough to kill over the ninety Aurors that were guarding the prison," Severus said.
Dumbledore's face grew even more serious at this mention, his blue eyes growing dark behind his half-moon spectacles.
"Damn it." he sighed. For the first time in a long time, he felt frustrated about the turn-in events.
"Do you have any thoughts on who might be behind this, and how should we approach Grindelwalds disappearance?" Severus asked
Dumbledore was silent for a moment as he considered Sevrus' question, his eyes lost in thought. Dumbledore got up from his chair and walked around the desk, standing in front of Severus.
"There are still a few people that hold a personal grudge against Gellert, but they wouldn't be powerful enough to set him free, let alone cause such havoc. I'm at a loss for the culprit here other than Voldemort." he said furrowing his brow in deep thought."For now, keep this development to yourself. We don't want panic to spread unnecessarily, and send Remus, and Sirius out immediately to start searching for any clues."
"As you wish Albus" Severus nodded, accepting the task Dumbledore had given him. He turned and left Dumbledore alone
Dumbledore let out a sigh, rubbing his temple as if trying to relieve a headache. "I'm getting too old for this" he chuckled dryly to himself.
He looked over at his prized chocolate frog card showed a detailed illustration of the legendary wizard, Merlin, holding his staff and looking stern and wise. He gently took the card and stared at the image of the wizard, his eyes lingering on the man's wise and knowing expression. He sat in silence, the only sound in the room being the occasional pops from the pensieve, the shuffling of paper, and the soft crackle of the roaring fire in the fireplace. His mind was consumed with thoughts of Grindelwald's disappearance, the Death Eaters' involvement, and the unknown entity behind the whole facade.
Dumbledore then noticed the card of Morgan Le Fay, that had been under the card. His eyes widen slightly. Dumbledore's gaze flicked over to the card of Merlin again. He stared at the image of Merlin for a few moments, his mind working like a well-oiled machine. He took a deep sigh as he finally put everything together.
"Your sins have a funny way of coming back to haunt all of us, Merlin"