Chasing Love

Chapter Seventy-Seven - DA

Checking the weather for the fifth time that day, Eliza shook her head angrily - there was a still a big storm raging across the grounds. No sane person would hold a Quidditch Practice during that weather; she would have to admit defeat.

During lunch she walked round trying to find all the team to tell them she had cancelled the practice. When she told Harry he replied with, "Good, because we've found somewhere to have our first Defence Meeting. Tonight, eight o'clock, seventh floor opposite that tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy being clubbed by those trolls. Can you tell Alicia, Angelina and Katie?"

"Yeah, of course I will." Eliza promised him as she made her way over to where the girls were sat.

"Told everyone?" Alicia asked her.

Eliza nodded, "Yeah, Harry's told me something."

"What's he said?" Katie asked her curiously.

Looking round to see that no one could hear her, she then said, "The first Defence Meeting is tonight at eight o'clock."

"Really?" Angelina asked her, she seemed quite taken back, "I didn't think anything of it, thought it would just be forgotten about."

Katie then said, "We do need to learn how to defend ourselves! Especially the younger ones - at least we've had a few years of having a proper teacher!"

When eight o'clock arrived they were sat on cushions in the room opposite the tapestry of the trolls clubbing Barnabas the Barmy. They were in the Room of Requirements of course, except not a lot of the younger members seemed to have any idea about what it was due to how they had never seen it before. 

Harry locked the door and turned around to see that everyone was staring at him expectedly, "Well, this is the place we've found for practice sessions, and you've - er - obviously found it okay."

"It's fantastic!" Cho said loudly causing a few others to agree with her - the girl seemed to have recovered from the death of Cedric the year before, well appeared as though she had. 

"It's bizarre," Fred told everyone as his frown deepened as he looked around, "We once hid from Filch in here, remember George? But it was just a broom cupboard then."

"Hey, Harry, what's this stuff?" A young boy who was in Harry's year asked about a Sneakoscope and a Foe-Glass. 

"Dark detectors." Harry replied, "Basically they all show when Dark wizards or enemies are around, but you don't want to rely on them too much, they can be fooled." Harry stared at the glass before continuing, "Well, I've been thinking about the sort of stuff we ought to do first and - er - What, Hermione?" He asked as the girl had raised her hand into the air. 

"I think we ought to elect a leader."

"Harry's leader." Cho said quickly. 

"Yes, but I think we ought to vote on it properly," Hermione replied, "It makes it formal and it gives him authority. So, everyone who thinks Harry ought to be our leader?" Everyone there put their hand up. 

"Er - right, thanks." Harry's face began to turn into a light shade of red, "And - what, Hermione?"

She had yet again raised her hand, "I also think we ought to have a name. It would promote a feeling of team spirit and unity, don't you think?"

"Can we be the Anti-Umbridge League?" Angelina said causing Eliza, Alicia and Katie to chuckle. 

"Or the Ministry of Magic are Morons Group?" Fred suggested.

Hermione frowned at Fred, "I was thinking, more of a name that didn't tell everyone what we were up to, so we can refer to it safely outside meetings."