The Hufflepuff

Eight

In Herbology later that week, over the din of the rain pouring onto the greenhouse roof, Harry and Hermione whispered in hushed tones the instructions on where the first meeting would be held.

"Seventh floor, at eight o'clock, by the old tapestry."

What with Umbridge checking the Hufflepost they'd already agreed that the location would not be posted in it in case the concealment charms broke, instead agreeing to write about defensive magic advice and other things they thought that would be important to cover the disaster of what had become the Defence Against the Dark Arts class.

Instead they promised to inform the other Hufflepuffs after Herbology had ended. The excitement for the evening saw that the day's classes passed fairly quickly and at ten to seven Eleanor, Cynthia and Susan made their way as inconspicuously as possible to the seventh floor where they found a highly polished door where they'd just seen a group of Ravenclaws enter.

Inside they found a spacious room filled with training dummies, books on defensive magic and dozens of other tools for Harry to use to teach everyone.

"This is amazing," Eleanor exclaims, "Where do you think Harry got all this stuff from."

"It's called the Room of Requirement, it's hard to explain but the short of it is that it gives the user whatever they need," Harry says, having heard Eleanor's comment. "I didn't bring any of this stuff."

"That's incredible."

The floor is littered with colourful cushions that gradually are being claimed by students as seats while they talk amongst each other waiting for the evening to begin.

"Eleanor," calls a voice from across the room.

Reggie is sitting amongst a group of his Ravenclaw friends, indicating several spare cushions beside him for her and the others to take. Cynthia shoots a look at Eleanor, clearly amused with her brother's actions.

They cross the room and take up the spots he'd saved, a warm blush spilling across Eleanor's face as she tries her best to look calm and not like her stomach has just been swarmed with butterflies.

"I was hoping to see you. I wanted to ask what you were doing on the weekend and if you wanted to go for that next date."

His words send the swarm on loops and barrel rolls and her face grows even redder, behind her she can hear Cyn and Susan sniggering to one another.

"I'm not doing anything," she says, doing her best to ignore them.

The rest of their conversation is cut off by the silent tension as everyone had arrived and was now looking to Harry for instruction.

"Um, so this is the place we've found to practise in," He begins, his voice shaking only slightly as his eyes move from face to face.

"It's fantastic," says a girl beside Reggie, Eleanor recognises her as the Ravenclaw seeker Cho Chang.

"So, I think we should have a name," says Hermione after the noise has died down from discussion of the room as everyone began murmuring their own praise for the location.

"The Anti-Umbridge League?"

"The Defence Association?" Cho suggests.

"What about Dumbledore's Army?" Adds another girl with vivid red hair that immediately marks her as Ron Weasley's younger sister.

"All in favour of the DA?"

Everyone agrees and Hermione adds the name to the piece of parchment everyone had signed at the Hogs Head, clearly relieved that the decision had been so fast and decisive.