money from it, so please Ms. Rowling if you read this
don’t sue me. A comment or two would be welcome
though.
Please, if you read, take two minutes to review.
Harry sat waiting with Ron and Hermione in the Room of Requirement. They had arrived early to discuss what the DA should work on this year. Hermione and Ron thought they should expand practicing against the Imperius curse to the rest of the DA. Harry agreed, but was unsure of how to approach it with the others. It was after all one of the Unforgivable Curses. The other question was would they tell everyone about the two prophecies.
“I think we should, Harry. The more people we let know, especially about the second one, the more we can have helping me work with you to create new spells,” Ron said.
“I don’t know, Ron,” Hermione answered. “There was a reason that Dumbledore and the rest of the Order worked so hard to make sure Voldemort didn’t find out what the first prophecy says. There is a reference to a power the Dark Lord knows not. If that gets back to him, it could help him defeat Harry. I think we should give them some of the first prophecy but not all of it.” Harry found himself agreeing with her.
“I think I will keep part of it back from them, as much to protect them as me. I worry about the second prophecy though. Letting that out could really put you in a lot of danger Ron. I guess it is up to you what you want to tell them though.” Ron thought for a while.
“We could make people sign a sheet like last year again. Everyone knows about the hex you put on Marrietta for ratting us out. I heard they only just figured out the counter jinx to it the week before school started,” Ron said. “Brilliant that was.”
Hermione blushed.
“I’m going to tell them. Considering, Voldemort must know how close I am to Harry already. I want the help more than the safety of not telling the DA members.”
“I can’t tell you two what to do. But let’s be done by 9:00; don’t forget you both have Quidditch tryouts tomorrow. Can you believe Professor McGonagall is making every position open?” Hermione asked, trying to change the subject. Two of the three people she loved most in the world were playing with their lives and she didn’t want to think about it any more than she had to. Harry and Ron both sensed her unease and let her steer them into a short discussion of the tryouts before she interrupted them again.
“Look, here they come,” Hermione said quietly. “Wonder how many will come back?”
“I know Fred and George will be here. They owled me the other day, said they would sneak into the school. They were going to bring Angelina, Alicia, and Lee with them,” Ron commented. Harry grinned while Hermione just shook her head in exasperation.
“Only those two would leave in the manner they did and then sneak their way back in,” she replied.
People started to file in, slowly filling in around the three of them. It looked to Harry like everyone was back, including….
Cho! Harry’s first voice said.
“What’s she doing here?” Ron hissed.
“Looks like her friend decided not to come with her this time,” Hermione observed.
“That’s not all, look,” Harry said, with a nod at the door.
“Bloody Hell!” Ron exclaimed, as Ginny came in the room followed by the huge form of Hagrid.
“Hi ya Harry,” he said, sitting down with the rest of the DA members. Harry smiled at him. Now he was really getting nervous. Luna sat down next to him a moment later.
“Hello Harry,” she said in her normal dreamy tone. “Ron, Ginny, I think you know Bridgette. Bridgette, this is Harry Potter, and Hermione Granger,” she added a moment later
Harry looked past her at Ron and Ginny’s cousin. She looked a lot like Ginny, except with her blue eyes and blond hair, she seemed to radiate light. Harry noticed the other boys in the room openly staring at her.
“Hello, nice to meet you,” he said.
“Luna’s told me a lot about you. All of you,” she replied, looking around at Ron, Ginny and Hermione. "I hope it’s ok that I came tonight,” she added nervously.
“Of course it's ok, Bridgette,” Ginny said. “I was going to ask you myself, but Luna told me she already had.”
I wish she had asked us if it was ok, the first voice said to Hermione.
I wish she had too, Hermione replied.
My, aren’t we jealous. She doesn’t have the right to protect herself from Voldemort just because we think she might horn in on Harry? her second voice asked.
You are blunt. Aren’t you? Hermione retorted. The voice didn’t respond.
“Why don’t we get started Harry, I’ve got the member sheet hexed now,” Hermione told him.
“What did you do to it?” Ron asked.
“Let’s just say, if you tell something you shouldn’t, you’ll wish you were Marrietta,” Hermione replied.
“Good,” Harry said with a grin at her, as he stood up. “I think we can get started now.” The noise died down as the DA focused their attention on Harry. “I guess maybe, I should tell all of you that we don’t officially have permission to reform the DA.” Harry’s announcement didn’t have the effect he was expecting. There was no murmur of dissent or uncomfortable shifting around in their seats by the group.
“I’m not interested in permission. I’m interested in being able to fight, Harry.” It was Cho who spoke up.
“Yeah Harry, we know all about what happened at the Ministry last spring. You guys would all be dead if you hadn’t been practicing, training all of last year,” Ernie Mcmillion added. His statement was greeted with several shouts of agreement from the other members.
We wouldn’t have been there to begin with if we hadn’t let Voldemort trick us into going in the first place, Harry’s first voice said to him.
Forget about getting upset from that. We need to learn from it and teach them not to make the same mistake too. It’s the only thing we can do to honor Sirius, the second voice replied. Harry sighed, and taking a deep breath started again.
“I think that maybe I’ll fill in some of the blanks that might be in the story for you. After that if you want to stay, Hermione has a sign up sheet. And in case you’re wondering it is jinxed again,” he added noticing a few nervous glances in her direction.
“You all remember what happened to the person who ratted us out last year,” he said, glaring at Cho. She stared back refusing to break eye contact with him. “The curse this time around is much worse. For those of you who don’t feel that’s fair. You can take your chances with Voldemort, because mine and now Ron’s life depends on you keeping your word to honor the group,” he paused to let his comments sink in.
Harry then proceeded to tell the whole story of the battle at the Ministry that past spring. How they had gone to save Sirius Black, his godfather, who was not a Death Eater. How they had been trapped. How they had fought and lost, only to be saved by the Order of The Phoenix. How Sirius had died in the fight. How Voldemort had invaded his mind to trick him into coming, and how it was his fault, because he acted without thinking, leading them all into a trap. How his mistake had almost cost all five of his friends their lives.
“I’m telling you all of this because we all need to learn from the mistakes I made, not just me….Hermione, you can pass around the signup sheet now. If you want to leave, you should go now,” Harry finished.
Hermione didn’t move for a minute or two. No one did, they were all in shock at how honestly Harry had torn apart his roll in the attack at the Ministry.
“Hermione--”
She jumped, Ginny was talking to her.
“--pass me the sheet,” she indicated.
“What? Oh yes, the sheet.” Hermione quickly signed her name to the parchment and handed it to Ginny. It was passed around the room and everyone signed without hesitating, Hagrid and Bridgette were the lone newcomers. Harry stood up again.
“Were going to continue with the stuff we were doing last year, and add some new stuff to. But before we do that, you all should know why Voldemort wanted me to get the prophecy for him last year. And why he tried to kill me when I was a baby. This is a big deal, and is your last chance to leave.” Harry waited a moment and when no one moved, he turned and raised his wand. Then like Tom Riddle had done in the Chamber of Secrets he started to write out the prophecy. Flaming letters were left floating ominously as his wand traced the words in the air.
THE ONE WITH THE POWER TO VANQUISH THE DARK LORD APPROACHES….BORN TO THOSE WHO HAVE THRICE DEFIED HIM, BORN AS THE SEVENTH MONTH DIES…AND THE DARK LORD WILL MARK HIM AS HIS EQUAL….
The group read the words quietly as they floated portentously in the air. Faces began to turn to him. He kept quiet letting them think about what they had read. A few of them started talking quietly between themselves.
“Dumbledore gave me this prophecy after the battle last year at the Ministry. This is what Voldemort wanted me to get for him. It was made sixteen years ago by Professor Trelawney.” Harry noticed the looks of shock on people’s faces.
“To Professor Dumbledore when he interviewed her for the job of Divination Instructor. Dumbledore believes it to be a true prophecy, not the blarmy she spouts in class all the time---”
The others looked around at each other again. Harry could tell almost everyone was having a hard time believing that Professor Trelawney was anything but a fraud.
“---So does Voldemort. There is more to the prophecy than what you see. I am giving you one line more than Voldemort knows. It’s not that I don’t trust you, but if you know the whole prophecy, you would be a bigger target than me. At least until Voldemort had finished torturing you to get it.” Harry stopped to let his words sink in.
“The first part, where it says that the Dark Lord’s equal was approaching, that he or she would be born as the seventh month dies to parents who had thrice defied him….Was overheard by a Death Eater, who warned Voldemort….Voldemort chose on that limited knowledge…To kill the child.” Again Harry let the words sink in before continuing.
“My parents defied Voldemort three times. I was born July 31st. Voldemort tried to kill me when I was a baby. I think you can figure the rest out for yourselves,” Harry said, as he lifted the hair covering his scar. There were looks of astonishment and understanding all around the room.
“Blimey!” Hagrid said in a loud whisper. Finally the silence was broken with the question Harry was expecting.
“Harry, my parents defied him three times too, and I was born on July 31st also,” Neville said quietly. Harry turned and smiled at his friend.
“I know Neville, and if Voldemort had tried to kill you that night. Well then you would likely be standing here, and I would be sitting where you are,” Harry replied. They looked at each other for a long time before Neville broke the silence again.
“He may not have killed my parent’s but they’re in St. Mungos because of him. I’ll help you in anyway I can, Harry.”
“Thanks Neville,” Harry answered. They looked at each other for a few moments, each considering how their lives could be different, before Harry spoke again.
“I think that maybe Ron should tell the next part. Because it concerns him as much as me, and it will be what we work on the rest of the night,” Harry said turning back to the group. Ron looked taken aback.
“Me?” he asked, as Hermione pushed him to his feet.
“Just tell them why Gryffindor got all those points last Friday night. Then we’ll show them that prophecy too,” Harry said, helping Hermione by pulling Ron up. Ron looked around apprehensively.
“Ok,” he began….
“You created a new spell?” George asked when he finished
“Technically no, Dumbledore had already done it. But he didn’t show me the magic. He pointed me in the direction I need to go, made me find the answer,” Ron replied quietly.
“Technically nothing, I couldn’t have done that, none of us here could,” Fred replied.
“Actually, the point is that you can.” Ron turned and repeated the process Harry had of writing in the air with his wand.
THE ONE MARKED BY THE DARK LORD…. MARKED AS EQUAL BY HIM….OTHERS WILL COME IF HIS HEART IS TRUE….HE NEED NOT FIGHT ALONE….
ONE OF RED HAIR WILL RISE….POWER APPROACHING THAT OF THE DARK LORD….IN 11 YEARS THE FIRST TO OFFER FRIENDSHIP, IT WILL BE TESTED IMMEDIATELY….CHOOSE WISELY EQUAL AND HE WILL BE YOUR GENERAL, PLANNING YOUR VICTORY….HE CAN SHOW YOU THE WAY TO NEW MAGIC….HIS HEART WILL WAVER ONCE, BUT RETURN TO STAND WITH YOU AND FACE HIS GREATEST FEARS….CHOOSE WISELY EQUAL AND TWO OTHERS WILL FOLLOW….
“This is the whole reason Dumbledore taught me what he did, a second prophecy. I needed to show Harry that it can be done. So that he can do it too. We all can. We’re not going to get too far into it tonight, but I’ll show you how, the rest will be up to you.” The rest of the DA just looked at Ron and Harry.
“The prophecy says there will be three Ron, who are the other two?” Bridgette asked softly.
“I don’t know, Dumbledore won’t tell me. He says that until they claim their roll in the prophecy. That those lines must be kept secret, or it could cause the prophecy to not come true. If that happens, then Harry will most likely fail to defeat Voldemort,” Ron replied loudly so everyone could hear. It was a while before anyone else spoke again.
“Are their any other bomb’s you two would like to drop on us tonight?” Katie Bell asked.
“Well actually there is. I want you all too work on getting over your fear of Voldemort’s name. It is time to stop this You-Know-Who garbage,” Hermione said as heads snapped in her direction. Hermione paid no attention to the incredulous looks she was getting.
“And you all have heard,” she continued, “Harry tell you how Voldemort invaded his mind last spring. We also all know about how he possessed Ginny to open the Chamber of Secrets. We need to protect ourselves against that.
“So, Ron, Harry, Ginny and I have been training all summer against the Imperius curse. Fred, George come here, stand over by Ginny. The rest of you move away.” Fred and George looked at each other alarm on their faces.
“I promise I won’t hurt you, I just want to prove that I can perform the curse,” Hermione said to them
“What curse?” they asked together.
“The Imperius curse. I’m going to do it on Ginny too. But she can beat it pretty easily now. So, I want to put it on you two to prove to the others that I can do the curse correctly.” The rest of the DA looked on in alarm. Harry could sense it.
“Look it doesn’t hurt. And most of us have had it placed on us by that imposter Mad-Eye. The thing is Voldemort uses it all the time. And you can fight it if you practice,” he said to the group.
“Ready?” Hermione asked, as she raised her wand at the three of them. Fred and George looked at each other, then turned to her and nodded slowly.
“Go ahead, Hermione,” Ginny said. Harry could already see her eyes starting to glow.
“Imperio!” Hermione cast the spell using her conscious self and both voices. She had all three of them, going easy on Fred and George, but putting everything she had into Ginny. Harry and Ron stood ready, mindful of the first time that summer when Ginny had been placed under the curse.
A few seconds later, Fred and George were hanging from the chandelier acting like monkeys. Ginny however had taken a few steps with them and stopped. The others could see her fighting.
“Ginny, I said act like a monkey!” Hermione demanded. “Climb up on the light, Ginny!”
Ginny looked up at the light. Harry saw a flash in her eyes. And the spell broke.
“Wanted me to join them did you?” she asked, pointing at her brothers.
“Good job, Ginny.”
“Thanks, Harry.”
Hermione released the spell on Fred and George. They stopped screeching and looked at each other.
“Whatcha doing up here?” they asked together.
“You two can come down now,” Hermione yelled up at them.
The rest of the DA gathered in around them.
“Did she do it?” Fred asked
“Yeah she hit all three of you,” Lee Jordan said, “told you all to act like monkeys. You two started running around screeching like a couple of Nutters. Then you both climbed up on the chandelier and started swinging from it.”
“What about Ginny?” George asked.
“Well she started like she was going to, then she stopped. Hermione told her to join you again, but she just kind of shook her head and you could tell she was not under the spell anymore,” Lee replied.
“You four have been doing this all summer?” Neville asked. “Can you all beat it?”
“Well Ginny is the best at it. She can fight off Harry and Ron together. The rest of us can do it some times. Other times we don’t do so well. But we’re all getting better at it. It just takes a lot of practice,” Hermione said. The DA looked at Ginny.
“Both of em?” Hagrid asked.
Yeah, we have to take her wand away because she fights back so hard. She ended up petrifying Hermione the first time. Ron and I had to wrestle her to the ground,” Harry said.
“Fred….remind me to never make Ginny mad will you,” George said with a trace of awe in his voice.
“Between her and Ron knocking the puss out of Malfoy without his wand this summer, I’m not feeling to safe around either of them,” Fred replied with and impressed look at his younger brother and sister.
“Ahem….I was wondering if I might have a word?” The group spun to see who was talking.
“Professor Lupin!” Hermione gasped. “How did you get in? I locked that door,” she asked in exasperation. The rest of the people looked at him sure they were in a lot of trouble.
“I am the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher am I not?” he asked with a smile. Harry could see that Professor Tonks was back in the corner also.
How long do you think they’ve been here? the first voice asked.
“An interesting club you have here. I must say that I am impressed with your desire to arm yourselves to fight against the Dark….Voldemort,” Professor Lupin changed his words. He smiled at Hermione before continuing. “And his Death Eaters. And this room you have found is amazing. I think I may have hid in here once during my school days. It was smaller though, more of a closet. Ginny that was an impressive performance defeating the Imperius curse.”
“Thank you, Professor,” Ginny replied blushing slightly.
“Is there something you wanted, Professor?” Harry asked. “Am I in trouble for reforming the DA?”
“This is your member list?” he asked indicating towards it. Harry nodded. Professor Lupin took out a quill and put his name on it, he then handed it to Tonks. She signed it and gave it back to Hermione.
“From time to time we will be checking in on you during the year. You will also be conducting future meetings in the apperation training room, it will give you more space. Fred and George, as you have your license; it will be your responsibility to train the others, all of them regardless of age. Those of you who are 6th year and above will need to show the younger members where the room is,” Professor Lupin finished.
“We’re supposed to teach the others how to apperate?” Fred asked.
“That is the price you two will pay for sneaking into Professor Dumbledore’s school,” Professor Lupin replied. Fred and George grinned at each other.
“How did he know about us meeting?” Lee Jordan asked.
I know, Harry’s second voice said.
“Dumbledore knows a lot more about what goes on around here than you might think,” Harry said. “Anyways it doesn’t matter, because we have permission to meet now.”
“Professor Tonks and I will be leaving now,” Professor Lupin said, as he headed for the door with Tonks trailing along behind him.
“Should we get started teaching the rest of you the Recognition charm?” Hermione asked. The group nodded in agreement. “Ok then Lee, Fred, George, Luna, Neville, Cho, and….Bridgette you’re with me. Lets get to work.”