❝ why? because you-know-
who is back, you tosspot ! ❞
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THE FOLLOWING WEEKS AT HOGWARTS were made particularly unpleasant — courtesy of the minister for magic's decision to appoint umbridge as the school's high inquisitor. the woman had sacked professor trelwaney and tried to banish her from the grounds— although of course, dumbledore wouldn't allow this banishment, and overruled her.
which made her defence against the dark arts lessons even more unbearable. which was saying something, because they already were something out of a nightmare.
and everyone had had enough.
hermione rose from her seat where the five friends were sitting before a large group of people. she cleared her throat, breaking the awkward silence. "um. . . hi. you all know why we're here. we need a teacher. a proper teacher. someone who has real experience fighting against the dark arts."
"why?" zacharias smith asked.
"why? cause you-know-who's back, you toss pot!" ron snapped.
"so he says." the boy looked at harry.
"so dumbledore says." hermione stated.
"so dumbledore says because he says. the point is, where's the proof?"
"if potter could tell us more about how diggory got killed...?" michael corner began.
"no, he won't." maeve spat. "it's none of your business you dozy creep, so if you don't like us, or you don't believe harry, then you can lump it. got it?"
"i'm not gonna talk about cedric, so if that's why you're here, you might aswell clear off." harry stood up, huffing. "come on, let's just go, they're all here because they think i'm some sort of freak." he whispered to his friends.
"is it true you can produce a patronus charm?" luna piped up.
everyone now looked towards him, interested.
"yes." hermione intervened swiftly. "i've seen it." she nodded.
"blimey harry, i didn't know you could do that!" dean exclaimed, impressed.
"he also killed a basilisk! with the sword in dumbledore's office." levi added, ginny nodding in agreement.
"third year he fought about a hundred dementors at once!" ron boasted.
hermione nodded. "—and last year, harry really did fight off you-know-who in the flesh."
"look— it all sounds great when you say it like that." harry sighed. "but the truth is, it was all just luck. i didn't know what i was doing half the time, i nearly always had help—"
"he's just being modest."
"hermione, i'm not. 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— you don't know what that's like. . ." he sat down.
"you're right, harry, we don't. because if we're going to have any chance at beating..." she paused. "voldemort.. we need your help."
"if we're going to do this, we're going to do it properly." maeve agreed. "once you sign your name on that slip of parchment, it's a promise that there won't be a word of this group to anyone outside of these four walls. got it?"
"is he really back?" nigel asked quietly.
harry nodded solemnly.
"well, i for one, am in." clover stood up, breaking the silence.
'ALL STUDENT ORGANISATIONS AND SOCIETIES ARE henceforth disbanded. any student in non-compliance will face expulsion!' the new decree read, and filch hammered it into the stone wall beside the great hall.
"this isn't a coincidence!" maeve rolled her eyes. "someone's snitched. probably that zacharias smith—"
"—shifty little git," ron agreed with a grumble. "i knew i didn't like the looks of him—"
"agreed." levi grumbled. "he doesn't know how and when to shut his gob—"
"calm down." hermione assured. "we'll figure out who it was. meanwhile, our main concern is finding a place to practice."
"hey, er, guys?" came a shout from down the hallway, who maeve recognised to be clover's voice. "look what neville's done!"
they rushed over to see the longbottom boy standing timidly in front of the room of requirement.
"neville, you've done it! you've opened the room of requirement!" hermione gasped.
"i think we've just found our practice spot."
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lara's notes
*taps mic* is this thing on?
just a short filler before we
get into the drama in the
following chapters ;)