Harry Slytherin 5

Chapter 8: Secret Meeting

"Thank you Neville. I was hoping you would see it that way; that's why I had no reason not to invite her." Hermione smiles lightly, "We all need to come to together for this to work."

At that moment, Fred and George show up. They look around the room and chuckle. "Sorry we're late, we got caught up with business."

"Business?" Draco questions.

"The twins are planning to open up a crazy wizarding shop in Diagon Ally and they've been working tirelessly on their plans for it." Hermione replies.

"Got to get enough funds together, but otherwise we have a pretty good idea of where we're going with it." Fred replies.

Draco stands there, stunned. Then he replies, "When did you guys come up with this idea?"

"Been dreaming it up since second year at least." George replies with a smirk, "We've always known we are master pranks-men."

"Even better than the marauders back in their prime." Fred chuckles.

"You've been planning what you will do after school since your second year!?" Draco asks, completely baffled by this revelation. He then glances to his left downward angle and thinks about his life. 'I have no plans... I have no future. After everything is said and done we will either be dead or we will be normal unimportant wizards who once did something great.'

"Well some people are more driven then others." Jade replies, "I haven't really thought about what I want to do after school but I know I still have plenty of time to decide."

Draco nods, but continues to stare into the distance. When he had been younger, he knew how his life was going to turn out because his father had decided his future for him. But now that he had steered from his given path he realized he had no idea what to expect anymore.

hHarry decides that now is a good time to change the subject. "Hermione, if you don't mind me asking, what is this meeting all about?"

Hermione nods, and then sighs and glances over at the gathered students. "It's about what we are all thinking Harry. I'm sure Slytherin have felt this too." She glances over at Harry and frowns. "With Dumbledore gone, and Umbridge changing how the classes are taught, I'm afraid we won't have the tools we need to defend ourselves should Voldemort find a way to harm us. Especially once the school year has ended and we are all left outside of Hogwarts unprotected."

"What are you proposing we do, then?" Harry questions.

"We need to stick together." She replies, "All the houses, even Slytherin. This is big Harry, much bigger then some minor house rivalry. The whole world could be at risk."

"Is that why you invited us?" Harry questions.

"Well it's one reason." Hermione nods, and steps towards Draco. "Listen, Malfoy... I know we haven't always seen things eye to eye but I was hoping that if I offered you this serenely, you might accept it." She hands him a piece of parchment.

Draco raises an eyebrow and looks at the paper, "What is it?" He questions, reading through the carefully constructed words in the writing.

"An invitation." Hermione replies, looking at the group again. "We are all agreed that we need to defend ourselves should we be attacked by you know who. I propose we form a group all together... a secret club if you will... a force to stand against the Dark Lord and his followers." She turns back to Draco and points at the parchment. "Malfoy, we need someone who can think like a death eater and help us learn how to defend against them."

"Y-you want me to..." Draco mutters, staring at the last line of parchment that reads. 'I hope you will teach us everything you know.'

"I want you to teach us." Hermione replies.

It seems just then that some Hufflepuff girls that are nearby begin to head for the exit.

"Where are you going?" Hermione asks.

"You want a Slytherin to teach us defense against death eaters!? You're insane, Granger." One of them replies with a trembling voice, "H-how can you expect us to trust him!?"

Draco reflects on his past mistakes, thinking about the many people he had scared into submission. He was now seeing the consequence of these actions.

Hermione is at a loss for words to this, as she hadn't planned on anyone objecting. Soon the whole group begin to head for the door.

Draco realizes that, for all the things he has done and said, there are still a few people who believed in him enough to let him try. He nods and then hands the parchment back to Hermione. "I couldn't ask anyone here to trust me, not after how I treated everyone."

The group that had been leaving stops, and turns to listen.

"I am almost honored that you thought about me for this, but I couldn't..." He looks at the group and then turns away. "I'm the one who doesn't belong here. I don't deserve to be surrounded by people who have forgiven me and people who want my help." He looks at Jade and he shrugs, "I don't even deserve the life I have right now. How could I expect anyone to listen to me? Besides, I really don't have that much to offer."

"That's sort of true." Hermione nods, "But I can tell you've changed over the years, and you've even come to understand your own faults. Nobody is perfect ,Malfoy, that's why I wanted you to join us as a group." She glances around the room, and then back at Draco. "Do you remember our first year when I was locked in the bathroom and you and Harry came to save me?"

"You swore not to tell anyone about that!!!" Draco growls defensively.

"Even though we were at a terrible disadvantage against a huge troll, you still helped me. I've known since then that you are a good guy deep down. You only keep confirming it. Besides, you're not the only one who will be teaching us something." She replies, looking at Harry. "As I have come to understand it, you have learned a few high level spells yourself, Harry. Would you both coach the group and help us learn the things that we don't know?"

Harry glances at Draco, and then at the group. "Us... only if everyone here agrees to follow our advice."

Everyone thinks it over and nods in agreement.

"Then it's settled." Hermione nods, "We'll need to meet up as a group and figure out magic for ourselves."

"We could all meet up in the prefects lounge." A hufflepuff replies, "Hardly anyone is ever in there."

"Well, not quite." Sed remarks, "Umbridge is letting Marcus flint her little stooge stay in there until the teachers assistant room can be placed in the lobby."

"Then we'll first need to find a place to meet up. Until then, we can meet up here in the old shack on our once a week trips." Hermione nods.

"We'll need to meet up a lot more than once a week if we plan to actually learn anything useful." Jade replies, "But for now this might be our only choice."

"We'll need a way to keep in contact." Harry replies, "Something of a signal to let the others know if we need help or if we won't be able to make it to the meeting."

"I have an idea, but first we need to settle on a name for our group." Hermione replies, "Any ideas?"

Nobody offers anything, so after awhile of silence, she shrugs. "Ok, we'll come back to that. For now, let's head back before we are missed and we'll figure out the smaller details at a later date."

The group all nods and sign a piece of parchment, swearing to keep the group and its members secret, then everyone goes back to Hogwarts school.