Slytherin Princess | ✓

thirty-two

It had only been a week since the meeting at Hog's Head when Luna Lovegood, the blonde Ravenclaw, came up to me with a cryptic message on where to meet for the first Defense lesson. Ten to eight, I snuck out of the Slytherin common room and up the stairs towards the seventh-floor corridor. I actually met up with Lovegood half way up the steps and we walked to the area together.

"What are we supposed to do again?" I asked the airy blonde.

"We think 'Harry Potter's Defense lessons' to find the hidden room," Lovegood smiled.

"Lovely," I muttered and did as I was told.

A highly polished door had appeared in the wall. Looking around, I recognized the people from Hog's Head, like Weaslette and Longbottom. Lovegood opened the door to a spacious room lit with flickering torches like those that illuminated the dungeons eight floors below. Harry, Weasley, and Granger already stood enough looking at the items in the room.

"Whoa," said Weaslette, staring around, impressed. "What is this place?"

Harry began to explain, but before he had finished more people had arrived, and he had to start all over again. By the time eight o'clock arrived, every cushion was occupied. I sat in the back corner, away from most of the other members; the Weasley twins sat near me away, causing me to smile. Harry moved across to the door and turned the key protruding from the lock; it clicked in a satisfyingly loud way and everybody fell silent, looking at him. Granger carefully marked her page of Jinxes for the Jinxed and set the book aside.

"Well," said Harry, slightly nervously. "This is the place we've found for practices, and you've — er — obviously found it okay —"

"It's fantastic!" said Chang, and several people murmured their agreement.

"It's bizarre," said Fred, frowning around at it. "We once hid from Filch in here, remember, George? But it was just a broom cupboard then..."

"Hey, Harry, what's this stuff?" asked Dean Thomas from the rear of the room, indicating the Sneakoscopes and the Foe-Glass.

"Dark Detectors," said Harry, stepping between the cushions to reach them. "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..."

He gazed for a moment into the cracked Foe-Glass, but then put it down and turned to us.

"Well, I've been thinking about the sort of stuff we ought to do first and — er —" Harry stopped as Granger raised her hand. "What, Hermione?"

"I think we ought to elect a leader," said Granger.

"Harry's leader," said Chang at once, looking at Granger as though she were mad.

"Yes, but I think we ought to vote on it properly," said Granger, unperturbed. "It makes it formal and it gives him authority. So — everyone who thinks Harry ought to be our leader—?"

Everybody put up their hands, even Zacharias Smith, though he did it very half-heartedly.

"Er — right, thanks," Harry said, as his face flushed in bashfulness. "And — what, Hermione?"

"I also think we ought to have a name," she said brightly, her hand still in the air. "It would promote a feeling of team spirit and unity, don't you think?"

"Can we be the Anti-Umbridge League?" said Johnson hopefully.

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

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