𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖌𝖗𝖎𝖒 [h. potter]

VII

§§§

VII: THE HOG'S HEAD INN

§§§

§§§

Usually, Pippa liked to try to adhere to the mindset of "don't judge a book by it's cover" but the inside of the Hog's Head Inn seemed more than happy to submit to its dingy, sketchy outward appearance. She found herself perched on a frighteningly wobbly barstool towards the front of the crowded little pub, squeezed between Luna and George Weasley, with whom she had traded a few sickles for the dusty butterbeer she was currently sipping. Quite a bit more than a few people had shown up to the occasion than Hermione had implied, including Micheal, who Pippa was, in all honesty, quite surprised to see shuffle in alongside a Hufflepuff boy she vaguely recognized from Terry's ramblings about Quidditch. She shifted a bit upon seeing him, to which Terry responded with a reassuring hand on her shoulder from where he stood behind her ("It's probably for the best," Pippa had joked about his positioning in the back. "I doubt anyone would be able to see around your freakishly large head").

Pippa noticed Harry looking at her, and smiled warmly back at him. "Hello Harry."

Harry didn't respond, gaze instead shifting to his feet, then to Hermione, who whispered something feverishly to him. A few more people trickled into the already overcrowded pub, and once they all had settled in, the chattering group quieted itself as Hermione stood from her seat.

"Er," Pippa could hear the nervousness that laced Hermione's voice. "Well, er, hello. Well, you all know why you're here. Erm, well, Harry here had the idea—" Pippa noticed the glare Harry shot Hermione "—I mean, I had the idea that it might be good if people who wanted to study Defense Against the Dark Arts," Hermione seemed to be growing more confident as she talked, "I mean, really study it, you know, not that rubbish that Umbridge is doing with us because nobody could call that Defense against the Dark Arts—"

"Hear, hear," Anthony Goldstein, who was seated next to Padma in a sort of perfect Prefect pair, chimed in in agreement.

"—well, I thought it would be good if we, well, took matters into our own hands. And by that, I mean learning how to defend ourselves properly, not just theory but the real spells—"

"You want to pass your Defense Against the Dark O.W.L. too though, I bet?" Pippa scowled as she heard Micheal cut Hermione off. Of course Micheal would question this. Of course Micheal would try to cast doubt on this, after all, he had been questioning Harry since the very beginning. Why would this be any different?

"Of course I do," Hermione responded immediately. "But I want more than that. I want to be properly trained in Defense because....because..." Hermione trailed off before taking a deep breath, as if to reassure herself. "Because Lord Voldemort's back."

Pippa cringed involuntarily at such a direct mention of the name, and judging by the way Terry's hand tightened around her shoulder (from which it had not left the entire meeting), he had done something similar. There were similar reactions amongst the group; Neville Longbottom even let out a yelp poorly disguised as a cough.