A/N I decided to go ahead and get this up as long as I had it. No need to torture you guys too long.
Sigh. Not mine, but the lovely JKR's and she's nice enough to let all of us play with it.
Harry pulled a gleaming coin from his trunk and held it up to the light.
"These still work, right?" he asked Hermione.
"They should," she replied. "Not to brag or anything, but it is a powerful charm."
"Do you still have yours?"
Ron and Hermione nodded and Ginny held hers up.
"Right here," she said.
"Good. Well, here goes nothing." Harry pointed the wand at his coin and muttered an incantation under his breath. The galleon shone bright and the numbers adjusted to read, May 27th, 1997, 6:00 pm.
"Anything?" he asked. Ron shook his head.
"Not yet."
"Give it time," Hermione said, observing the coin.
"It's warm!" Ginny explained, a few seconds later.
"Brilliant," Harry said, stowing his coin in his pocket. "I just hope everybody checks them."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
That morning at breakfast, DA members kept coming up to the Gryffindor table.
"Are we really meeting?" Luna asked excitedly. "Is the DA coming back?"
"We'll talk at the meeting," Harry said. "I promise."
She went off to find Neville and Harry turned to Ginny, Hermione, and Ron.
"If only they knew what they were getting into," he said, sadly.
"It'll be their choice alone," Ginny said. "As it is with all of us."
Harry put his arm around her and sighed. "I know. But still, they don't really understand what it's like."
"They're not going to find out unless given the chance," said Ron.
Hermione nodded. "I agree. No one knows until it happens. That's what makes the sacrifice so powerful."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The DA assembled promptly at six that night. All the students looked excited, but Harry and his friends were grim.
"So what is this all about?" asked Hannah Abbot.
"Yes," Ernie McMillan continued. "The DA hasn't met for months."
"Everything will be explained in a few minutes when--"
Dumbledore entered the room.
"--Dumbledore arrives," finished Hermione while all the other
students exchanged nervous glances. "I guess we'll let him explain."
"Thank you, Miss Granger." Dumbledore gazed at the DA.
He smiled at them, soberly.
"Good evening students. I am both happy and sorrowed to see you here this evening. I ask that you pay close attention to what I have to say to you and regard it as a matter most serious."
Several students exchanged wary glances and a few shuffled their feet nervously. Dumbledore continued.
"I have terrible news. There is a distinct possibility that Voldemort will attack Hogwarts, either personally, or with the aid of his Death Eaters."
The majority of Harry's classmates flinched at the sound of the name. Dumbledore's eyes softened and his face looked far older. He suddenly seemed weak and tired.
"My dear children," he said gently. "Why do you fear it? It's just a word, like any other. Say it, now!"
He waited. Harry looked around as his classmates stared at the floor, the ceiling, anywhere but at each other. He cleared his throat and stood.
"Voldemort."
Dumbledore smiled. "Good, Harry!"
Hermione stood and Ron followed. "Voldemort!" they said together, though Ron stuttered a bit.
Ginny rose, slipping her hand into Harry's. "Voldemort," she whispered, gazing into his eyes.
Behind them, a timid voice said, "V-Voldemort." They turned around and saw Neville standing straight and tall. It triggered a reaction in all the students assembled and they stood one by one, the once feared name, now echoing mockingly through the Room of Requirement.
"Good, good!" Dumbledore siad. "Louder now, yes even louder!"
There was one more cry of "VOLDEMORT!" before Dumbledore silenced them.
"You have taken your first step in destroying a great evil. . .
fear. Fear is a bigger threat than even Voldemort for even he feels fear."
"Forgive me sir," Kyla said. "But what does he have to fear?"
Several of the students nodded in assent and Dumbledore smiled.
"He fears death. He fears what many have faced bravely. That is why he murders. He wishes his enemies to face what he regards as the most terrifying thing imaginable. It must be bitter indeed when Voldemort sends someone into the unknown and they hold their heads high."
"You may ask why it is that I'm telling you this. Arguably, many of you are underage and those who are not are very young still. But you are never too young to do the right thing."
The Headmaster sighed. "I have no desire to use you in battle but a day may come when you have to fight! What I ask now is that you join together in the preparation. The attack could come today, next week, a year from now, ten years from now! But by starting tonight, you give yourself a greater chance of survival for when that day does come."
Dumbledore pulled out his wand and drew a sparkling purple line across the floor.
"I cannot command you to fight," he announced. "I can only plead with you. Tonight you are offered a chance to leave, but if you choose to prepare, cross the line."
Harry stepped forward, followed by Ron, Ginny, and Hermione. Neville was next, along with Luna, Cho, and Kyla. The Creevey brothers scampered past, grins on their faces. Soon everyone had crossed the line. Everyone, except for Zacharias Smith.
With a defiant look on his face and his fists clenched tight, he wordlessly left the Room of Requirement.
As all the students started whispering, Harry raised his hand. "Professor, may I say something?"
Dumbledore nodded. "You may."
Harry moved to the front of his fellow classmates and cleared his throat. The whispers died away.
"I'm afraid," he said simply. There was a slight intake of breath from all those gathered at this admission. Ginny smiled at him, nodding in support.
"I'm afraid for several reasons," he continued. "I'm afraid that you all think this is a game; an excercise. We've had a lot of fun in this room but the time for that is now over. I'm also afraid that you think that we will undoubtedly win. We are the "good guys" after all. Let me tell you something. The good guys don't always win. Sometimes they lose. Voldemort won't spare us because we're children. In fact, he'll kill us for that because we're the future. We're no longer playing around here."
"Harry," Cho said, stepping forward. She looked intently into his eyes and indicated those gathered. "We know that."
"Do you?" he asked. "You can't even begin to under-"
She put one finger up to silence him.
"I've felt the loss," she said quietly. "Remember Cedric? I loved him and he was taken from me. Not a person here has been left untouched by V-Voldemort's evil. We are more ready to fight than you realize."
Harry smiled and gave the older girl a hug.
"Thanks, Cho," he said, then turned to Dumbledore.
"Sir, your army is ready."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
And so they prepared. The OWL's were approaching soon and the students spent the days studying and the nights learning to fight. You could recognize members of the DA by the dark circles under their eyes and their vacant expressions when they sat down at mealtimes.
Finally, the exams came. All but the fifth and seventh year students continued their defense training while the others tested. Harry rarely saw Ginny in that time as he worked, training the younger students on more complex spells. Little Dennis Creevey was the last to master a Patronus Charm on the final day of exams before Harry released the DA.
Phew! I do believe this is the third time I've typed this up! Darn log-in issues. I have to admit that I'm not terribly fond of this chapter. I worked very hard on it but I don't know if it reflects the amount of work spent. Dumbledore was especially difficult as he spent the entire time, for lack of a better word, monologuing. Please tell me what you thought!
Spoilers are so fun to do, fun to do, fun to do! Haha!
"Oh, Harry," she said breathlessly. "I love--"
Harry's heart skipped a beat as Ginny paused.
Mwahahahaha!