Harry Potter and the War of the Wands

Chapter 7 - Dumbledore's Army

"We'll start with an easy one, shall we?" asked Professor Lupin. The class looked attentive. "Who can tell me the spell to resuscitate someone who has been hit with spell damage?"

Due to the lower number of returning students, the Headmistress had decided to combine some of the higher classes. The result being the sixth and seventh years now shared Defence Against the Dark Arts. Ginny and Luna had paired up happily behind Ron and Hermione.

As usual, Hermione's hand shot into the air. Her Head Girl badge was pinned proudly to the front of her robes. The uncertainty surrounding Hogwarts reopening had meant that the usual Owls which were sent out didn't include any of the prefect badges. But, as expected, Hermione had been called to the Headmistress's room on the first day of term to receive her title.

Slightly unexpectedly, Ron had received the same summons and was flabbergasted to be made Head Boy. Professor McGonagall had a task convincing him that it wasn't a joke, telling him in no uncertain terms that he was very deserving of it. "It isn't just examination results that determine the Head Boy, Mr Weasley!" she proclaimed. When Mrs Weasley got wind of it, the entire common room was forced to endure a letter which shouted praise at Ron for fifteen minutes straight whilst he turned a deep shade of scarlet.

What Ron was infinitely more proud of, though, was the fact that he'd also been made Quidditch Captain. If he'd have thought about it, he had actually achieved his hearts desire from the Mirror of Erised way back in first year.

"Sir, there are several spells depending on the severity and type of spell damage which has occurred, but the most common revival spell is 'Enervate'," she recited.

"Well done, Miss Granger," replied Lupin. The Defence class had become the most popular class again with the return of Remus Lupin. Although very difficult, he kept the lessons varied and interesting enough to keep all of the students entertained. Even the Slytherins seemed to be coming round.

"And when shouldn't 'Enervate' be used on an individual?" he continued.

Again, Hermione's hand was first in the air.

"If the person has been Confunded and knocked out," interrupted Blaise Zabini.

"Very good, Mr Zabini," said Lupin. Hermione scowled slightly. "And why is that?"

"If the spell damage is severe, waking them up too quickly can sometimes cause irreversible damage," replied Blaise.

"Exactly," said Lupin. "Take ten points for Slytherin."

Hermione and Blaise Zabini had developed an almost good natured rivalry in a couple of classes. Blaise had received the second best OWL results in their year, and now that Malfoy and some of the other Slytherins had failed to reappear for seventh year, he had become more vocal in class and produced even better results.

"You didn't get any points for your answer," whispered Ron irately.

"My answer was pretty easy, Ron," replied Hermione. "Remus knows that." She did, however, look slightly haughty at being outdone.

"Okay, I want you to divide into groups of two or three for the next exercise," said Professor Lupin. Ginny and Luna immediately asked Hermione to join them and Ron paired up with Neville, although he looked a little uncomfortable about it. Although Neville's spellwork had improved radically, he was still prone to mess up occasionally, and Ron was worried that this might be one of those times.

With a wave of his wand, Remus produced cushions for each of the teams to fall on.

"I want you all to practice duelling and reviving each other," he said. "Medium power spells only, please," he added.

Remus strolled round the class, watching each group in turn and making comments. When he came to Neville and Ron they were in the midst of a very impressive duel.

Neville had produced a powerful shield charm which blocked Ron's Jelly Legs Jinx. He then fired a return volley, which Ron parried with a wave of his wand. Both were mixing verbal spells with non-verbal in an attempt to gain the upper hand, but eventually Neville hesitated slightly and Ron grabbed his opportunity with a hex, which knocked Neville onto his back.

"Bravo, Ron," said Remus. Ron smiled widely.

"Enervate," said Ron, pointing his wand down at Neville. Neville came to life at once, and Ron helped him to his feet.

"Very well done to you too, Neville," said Remus. "That was a very nice piece of duelling from both of you." Hermione had also been watching the duel as Ginny and Luna practiced against each other.

"Thanks, Professor," replied Neville. "I haven't been practicing as much as I'd like though." Neville had become a lot more confident since his days at the DA meetings.

"That's something I'd like to ask you, Professor Lupin," interrupted Hermione. "I'm sure you know that back in fifth year, when Professor Umbridge was teaching Defence, we weren't allowed to do any practical work at all." Remus nodded in understanding.

"And Harry organised a secret Defence Club?" he said with a smile.

"Yes," replied Hermione. "Well, it was really useful for a lot of us, and I was wondering if you could speak to the Headmistress for us to ask if we would be allowed to start it up again in the Room of Requirement." Ron nodded his head in agreement. The two of them had been discussing whether they'd be able to restart the DA and decided that, if they were allowed, it would be well worthwhile.

"Of course, Hermione," replied Remus. "I can't see any reason at all why the Headmistress wouldn't allow it, but I'll speak to her later and I'll let you know." He moved onto the next group of duellers.

"That's great, Hermione," said Neville excitedly. She smiled in return. Hermione understood that Neville and Luna, in particular, would be extremely happy to see the DA back up and running.

****

By the time the duelling practice was finished and Remus had vanished the cushions, it was time for lunch.

Hermione and Ron were heading down to the Great Hall when there was a tap on Hermione's shoulder.

"What do you want, Zabini?" asked Ron, slightly cheekily.

"Ron!" scolded Hermione. "Is there anything you want, Blaise?" she asked politely. Ron was scowling at Blaise in principle.

"Well... I overheard you talking to Lupin, actually," started Blaise hesitantly.

"Prying into other people's business, eh?" said Ron harshly. Hermione elbowed Ron in the ribs and asked the Slytherin to continue.

"I was wondering... if you start up that Defence class again... would any of the Slytherins be allowed to join?" he asked. Ron gaped in surprise. This was the last thing they expected to hear.

"I don't see why not," replied Hermione. Ron spluttered in shock. Hermione was surprised at the request, but it provided a great opportunity for inter-House co-operation. "I'll let you know if we get the go-ahead from the Headmistress."

"Thank you," replied Blaise shortly, leaving Hermione with an incredulous Ron who was shaking his head in disbelief.

"That didn't just happen...," said Ron.

"Yes it did, Ron," said Hermione exasperatedly.

"But... he's a Slytherin!" shot Ron.

"I know very well what House he's in, Ronald," replied Hermione tartly. "This is a perfect opportunity to get rid of some of the negative feeling between the houses. If a couple of the Slytherins join, we'll maybe get a chance to see them in a friendlier light." Ron still looked sceptical.

"I'm not convinced that this is a good idea," he said with a shake of his head, "but, if you think it's for the best, we'll give it a try," he conceded. Hermione smiled in return.

"I'm glad you're willing to try," she said gently. "And I do believe it can work, but I agree... it's not going to be easy."

They continued down to the Great Hall, where it was now widely acceptable for students to share lunch with different houses. Ginny was already seated at the Ravenclaw table with Luna. Due to Ginny's popularity, many of the jibes Luna was accustomed to taking had subsided.

Ron and Hermione took their seats at the Gryffindor table with Neville, who was already halfway through his meal. Ron immediately launched himself into his food with gusto as usual. He had also worked up an appetite during his duel with his fellow Gryffindor.

Kreacher's appearance at the table, along with the accompanying crack, startled Hermione, who dropped her fork.

"The Mudblood is easily shaken," muttered Kreacher to himself as Hermione reached down to pick it up.

"What do you want?" spat Ron vehemently, a mouthful of mashed potato spraying everywhere.

"Kreacher is forced to run errands for an unworthy master," replied Kreacher, who was holding a package in his bony little hands.

"What errand, Kreacher?" asked Hermione politely. Despite all her attempts at being nice to the house-elf ending in failure, she still hadn't given up.

"Filthy little Mudblood always speaks so nicely to Kreacher... how he hates her!" said Kreacher under his breath.

"Just get on with your errand, and get lost," interjected Ron hotly.

Kreacher handed over the package to Hermione and disappeared with another crack. They didn't even notice the house-elf reappearing at the other table next to Ginny.

"What did he give you?" asked Ron curiously as Hermione tore open the letter and started reading.

"It's a letter from Harry!" said Hermione excitedly. She skimmed quickly over the first couple of lines. "He's okay!" Ron sat up straight, peering over Hermione's shoulder to get a closer look.

"What's it say?" asked Ron eagerly, almost clambering over her to get to the letter.

Not wanting anyone to hear them, Hermione lowered her voice and read the letter aloud. She then checked the other folder that Kreacher had given them. Quickly flicking through each one, she soon stopped at Tom Riddle's name.

"He must have gone to the orphanage," surmised Hermione. "That's the only way he could have gotten this information." Ron was re-reading the letter carefully, eventually satisfied that there were no hidden clues as to Harry's whereabouts.

"Well, at least he's okay," he said thankfully. "I knew he would be anyway, obviously... but it's good that he's finally managed to let us know." He spoke light-heartedly, but Hermione understood how relieved he was.

"I wish he would let us know where we could find him though," said Hermione. "I mean, even if we manage to find some useful information, we have no way of getting in touch with him," she said perplexedly.

"Well, we need to find some information first," said Ron. "Then we'll worry about contacting him. For now, I'm just glad that he's not run off and done something stupid." During their conversation, Remus Lupin had made his way from the teachers table, and was now standing right behind them.

"May I ask, who you two are referring to?" asked Lupin. Hermione jumped slightly. Both of them had been too engrossed in the conversation, they had no idea that they were being overheard.

"Oh! Hello, Professor," said Hermione in a squeaky voice, "we were... um... we were talking about... my dog back home," she continued, making it up on the spot.

"Your dog?" asked Lupin suspiciously. He was eyeing up the parchment in Hermione's hands.

"Yes... um... he got out of the house during the night and my parents have had an awful time trying to find him," said Hermione quickly as she stowed the letter in her bag.

Lupin looked from Hermione to Ron who blushed profusely. It was obvious they were hiding something.

"Well, if you know where your dog is, it would be better to tell someone you know," he said soberly. "We don't want anything to happen to him now, do we?"

Hermione blushed brighter than Ron.

"I'm sure he'll come home soon," she replied. "He's quite a smart dog."

Lupin considered her for a moment then nodded.

"Okay, I won't press any further at the moment," he said. "But let me know if there is anything I can do."

"We will," replied Hermione, visibly relieved.

"One more thing, I've spoken to the Headmistress, and she has no objections to you starting the Defence Club again. Just let me know if there's anything you need to get started."

"Thanks, Professor," said Ron. Hermione smiled widely at him.

"Now we have to put the word out to see how many people are interested in joining again," said Hermione.

"Slytherins included?" said Ron darkly.

"Yes, Slytherins too," she replied with a weary shake of her head.

****

Ron had just settled into his third game of chess with Ginny. His last checkmate had been an impressive sacrifice of his Queen in order to position his Knight in striking distance. She hadn't seen it coming, and before she knew it, the Knight had bashed the Kings skull in with his mace.

Hermione, as usual, was sitting close by on a comfy seat with a massive book on her lap, poring over it intently.

"Did you get a letter from Harry too?" whispered Ginny. She glanced cautiously around to make sure no-one was listening in. Hermione's ears pricked up and she stopped reading.

"Yeah, we were going to tell you when we got some privacy," replied Ron quietly. He then did a double take. "Wait a sec... too? Did Harry send you a message or something?"

"It didn't really say much, except that he was doing okay," she said. She had been so excited when she had seen who the letter was from that she had burst out of the Great Hall during lunch, unnoticed by Ron and Hermione, and ran straight to Gryffindor tower to read it. If truth be told she was rather disappointed that it didn't say more, but it was at least a comfort to her to know that he wasn't hurt... and that he missed her.

"Ours didn't say much more to be honest," said Hermione.

"You sure he didn't say anything about where he was staying or anything?" pushed Ron.

"Definitely not," replied Ginny. "I can't even reply to it since it was Kreacher who delivered it. There's no chance he'll do anything to help."

"I'll keep thinking about it," said Hermione. "There must be some way to get a message to him." She pondered momentarily, before going back to her book.

Ron and Ginny's third game finished much the same way as their others. Ginny, fed up with being trounced, left the table and joined a group of sixth years who were playing Exploding Snap. Ron sat back in his chair and relaxed with his eyes shut. He was almost dozing off to sleep when Hermione spoke up.

"It's time to get to work," she said brightly. Ron grimaced.

"But, Hermione, I've only got one essay to do and that's not due for ages," he grumbled. Hermione shook her head and smiled.

"Not that kind of work," she said. "I put together a little poster for the DA meetings and we're going to go post a few of them up on the notice-boards on the way to the library."

"Oh," replied Ron. "And we're going to the library, why?"

"To start looking into the stuff Harry wanted us to," she said in a low voice. "Now, come on." She grabbed him by the hand, and pulled him out of his seat. "I'll just go grab the folders and parchment." She ran off to the girls' dormitory, reappearing a minute later with her hands full with parchment.

"Just how did you manage to put that together since lunchtime!?" asked Ron incredulously on their way through the portrait door. The poster Hermione had designed had the banner 'The Defence Association' with 'Dumbledore's Army' in bold just below it. There was a moving picture of two wizards in the midst of a terrific duel and details of a schedule of meetings, which Hermione had obviously thought up.

"Oh, this?" she replied sheepishly. "I just had a free period this afternoon and it wasn't too difficult."

"You're amazing, Hermione," said Ron matter-of-factly. Hermione blushed brightly.

They busied themselves putting the poster up on each of the notice-boards they came across, and by the time they were finished, Hermione was content that everyone would come across at least one poster before the first scheduled meeting. The only requirement for becoming a member was that it was only open to fourth years and above. This stipulation was mainly due to the advanced spellwork that was sometimes needed.

Having avoided Peeves, who was floating around the second floor, by hiding behind a suit of armour, they eventually reached the library, which was virtually deserted. This wasn't uncommon during the first week of a new term. Most of the teachers were quite lenient with homework and allowed the students to settle in to school again before handing out any major assignments.

The Hogwarts library was a truly remarkable place. Although dedicated to the study of the magical arts, there were also rows and rows of books on various Muggle subjects as well. Presumably mostly for Muggle Studies research. There was also a section dedicated to the Muggle newspapers, which stretched back as far as the Great Fire of London.

"Okay, we haven't got much to go on, so I think we should start by researching the two orphans Voldemort took to the cave," said Hermione quietly. Ron didn't even wince at the sound of Voldemort's name anymore. He had seen too much of the dark to be scared of a word. "We'll see if we can track them down, supposing they're still alive that is." Ron nodded in agreement.

They found a table near the back and began looking through the files. Occasionally Hermione would retrieve an old newspaper to check some fact against, but it was mostly tedious research. After more than an hour of fruitless searching, Ron stretched back in his seat, stifling a yawn. He noticed a Hufflepuff second year come into the library and head toward them.

"Ron Weasley?" asked the young girl nervously. He nodded in response, and she handed him a piece of folded parchment and scurried off.

"Who's sending you notes at this time of night?" asked Hermione, barely looking up from her research.

"It's McGonagall," replied Ron in surprise. "She wants to see us in her office." Hermione finally looked up.

"When?" she asked.

"Right now."

****

They packed away the folders quickly, returned the newspapers to their shelves, and made their way to the Headmistress's office. When they reached the stone gargoyle, Ron took out the note again.

"Haggis," said Ron with a snort. Hermione rolled her eyes as the gargoyle slid to the side and the passageway opened up for them. Hermione knocked smartly on the door, and they heard McGonagall invite them in.

"What's HE doing here," snapped Ron as soon as he saw who was sat with the Headmistress. Hermione was surprised too, but managed to keep herself in check.

"Mr Weasley has been assigned as a liaison between Hogwarts and the Ministry," replied Professor McGonagall with slight distaste. "Both of you, please take a seat." She motioned to the hard backed chairs in front of her desk. Hermione went over, but Ron didn't budge.

"I said sit down, Mr Weasley," reiterated the Headmistress. Ron grudgingly took the seat next to Hermione without taking his eyes off of his brother.

"I'm on official business from the Minister himself," explained Percy Weasley pompously. "It's good to see you again, Ronald." He held out his hand in greeting.

Ron remained stony-faced and didn't accept the handshake. Percy withdrew his hand weakly.

"I've been sent to overview the situation here at Hogwarts to make sure everything is running properly in the wake of Headmaster Dumbledore's death." Ron and Hermione looked to Professor McGonagall who nodded slightly.

"The Minister merely wants to provide a secure atmosphere at Hogwarts again, and to avoid any mishaps from re-occurring."

"What do you want, Percy?" asked Ron sharply. His shoulders were tensed as though he might explode.

The two brothers looked at one another for a second. Hermione put her hand gently on Ron's lap, and he settled slightly.

"The Minister is obviously eager to find your friend Harry," said Percy, "for his own safety, more than anything."

"Your ministry just wants Harry to make them look good," spat Ron. "You don't really care about him."

"He's only seventeen years old, Ron," snapped Percy. "You can't believe he's really the answer to the world's problems! The public believes in Harry, I grant you, but it's the Ministry that's going to fight this war."

"Oh, so you're all finally admitting that there's a war on," said Ron spitefully. "Harry's been fighting this cause for years now, without your support, and now you're looking to him to help you?"

"Where is he, Ron?" asked Percy loudly. The atmosphere in the room was toxic. Both brothers were staring daggers at each other. The portraits of previous Hogwarts Headmasters and Headmistresses were all wide awake and listening to the conversation.

"I don't know," replied Ron with a smirk.

"Where is he?" shouted Percy in anger.

"I told you, I don't know," he said again. Percy was on his feet now.

"Miss Granger, if you know anything of Harry's whereabouts I would suggest you let us know so we can help," said the Headmistress gently. Hermione shook her head in response.

"You must know something!" said Percy.

"If we did, we wouldn't tell you," interrupted Ron.

"Gentlemen, calm down," Professor McGonagall broke in, but neither Weasley acknowledged her.

"You all have a responsibility to the Ministry!" shouted Percy. Ron burst from his chair. Hermione was also on her feet standing next to him.

"And you have a responsibility to your family!" roared Ron. His face flushed red in rage.

"A family that blindly followed Dumbledore's inscrutable orders and look where it led them.... Right into the line of fire! Bill's been scarred for life and any one of you could have been killed."

"Some things are worth dying for," said Hermione quietly. Professor McGonagall looked on approvingly, as did the portrait of Albus Dumbledore.

"Mum and Dad knew the risks involved in this, and so did Bill," said Ron through gritted teeth. Hermione could tell he was on the edge.

"Father is the biggest disappointment of all!" snapped Percy. "He should be supporting the Ministry instead of siding with a rag tag bunch that did Dumbledore's bidding without question!"

Percy went reeling backwards as Ron's fist hit him square on the chin. He fell against the wall and slumped down dazed. Hermione and the Professor both looked shocked.

"Don't you ever talk about Dad again," said Ron menacingly. "You don't deserve to have a father like him."

"Detention, Mr Weasley!" said Professor McGonagall, finding her voice. "Now, get back to your common room." Although she sounded furious, Hermione could tell by her look that she understood Ron's actions.

"It was worth it," muttered Ron as Hermione led him out of the office.

"I would say that you had that coming, Mr Weasley," said Professor McGonagall wryly as she helped Percy back to his feet.

"I'm inclined to agree," said Dumbledore's portrait with a twinkle in his eye.

****