intriguing (fred weasley x fem! reader)

Chapter Twenty-One: Dumbledore's Army

*Y/N's POV*

     The next few weeks of school were pretty much complete torture. Fudge had promoted Umbridge, so she was now High Inquisitor. She then had the audacity to try and fire Professor Trelawney. Although the woman could be whacked out of her mind, she was nothing less than sweet. Dumbledore hardly ever came down from his study, so we barely had heard any news from the Order. All of us seventh years were wondering how in the hell we'd pass our N.E.W.Ts while the fifth years had to worry about their O.W.Ls. Everything was just one big mess, that's why we all thought it odd when Hermione had asked some of us to meet her down at the Hog's Head Inn.

     "What do you think she wants us here for?" George asked the group, everyone just shrugged their shoulders.

    "She said it was about Umbridge, remember?" I answered. 

     "If it gets us away from that toad, I'm not complaining," Fred chuckled. 

     Hermione, Ron, and Harry entered the back room of the Hog's Head Inn we all sat in, the room falling silent.

     "Um," Hermione stood up, "Hi. So, you all know why we're here. We need a teacher. A proper teacher. One who's had real experience defending themselves against the Dark Arts."

     "Why?" one kid asked.

     "Why?" Ron scoffed, "Because You-Know-Who's back, you tosspot."

     "So he says," the kid scoffed.

     "So Dumbledore says," Hermione interjected.

     "So Dumbledore says because he says," the kid pestered on, "The point is, where's the proof?" I rolled my eyes.

     "If Potter could tell us more about how Diggory got killed," another boy suggested.

     "I'm not gonna talk about Cedric, so if that's why you're here, clear out now," Harry finally spoke up, "Come on, Hermione. They're here because they think I'm some sort of freak."

     She tried to pull him back, "Harry wait-"  

     "Is it true you can produce a Patronus Charm?" Luna Lovegood, a sweet Ravenclaw fourth year spoke up. I always liked her though others thought she was odd. We had spoken some times before and I was a big fan of her dad over at the Quibbler.

     "Yes," Hermione answered, "I've seen it."

     "Blimey, Harry, I didn't know you could do that," Dean spoke.

    "A-And he killed a basilisk, with the sword in Dumbledore's office," Neville spoke up.

    "It's true," Ginny smiled.

    "Third year, he fought off about a hundred dementors at once," Ron added.

   "And last year, he really did fight off You-Know-Who in the flesh," Hermione concluded.

    "Wait," Harry interrupted, "Look, it all sounds great when you say it like that but the truth is, most of that was just luck. I didn't know what I was doing half the time. I nearly always had help."

    "He's just being modest-"

     "No, Hermione, I'm not," Harry cut her off, "Facing this stuff in real life is not like school. In school, if you make a mistake, you can just try again tomorrow. But out there, when you're a second away from being murdered or watching a friend die right before your eyes..." Harry glanced up at Cho, "You don't know what that's like." The room was quiet as I exchanged quiet sympathetic glances with the twins as Harry sat back down.