EIGHT. ❝ CLUB ANTI-UMBITCH ❞
Hogwarts, 1995
"HEY," WHISPERED HARRY, who was pretending to be shifting through the bookshelves of the library, looking at Aurora through the stacks. "Psst. We've got an idea."
"What kind of idea?" Aurora questioned in a hushed voice. Harry, Hermione, and Ron had told her to meet them in the library to discuss an important matter, so there she was, talking to Harry through a bookshelf. She wasn't told exactly why they were meeting, but she was glad to get out of the current snowstorm and find shelter in her favorite place at Hogwarts aside from the Ravenclaw common room. So while waiting for them, she sat down and read
a book her mother had sent her a week ago when she spotted the three standing by the botany section, peering at her from the shelves.
"A secret one," Harry said. Aurora sent him a deadpanned look.
"Is that why we're doing this weird suspicious bookshelf talk?" She asked, walking with Harry.
He came out at the end of the shelf. "What do you mean?"
"Nevermind."
"...Alright?" Harry looked at her quizzically, as Hermione and Ron joined his side.
They all stared at each other for a couple moments, exchanging silent glances when Aurora finally spoke up. "Well?!" She threw her arms out. "What is it?"
"Shhh!" Madam Pince had shushed her and sent a glare her way. Aurora pressed her lips together and offered her a sheepish smile.
"Well," Hermione started after Pince left. "You know Harry's pretty experienced when it comes to defense spells..."
"Okay..." Aurora trailed off. "I'm following."
"And there's a lot of people unsatisfied with the way defense class is going right now," Ron continued.
"Well... what if he taught us them?" Hermione suggested, raising her brows.
"Like, a whole lot of us," Ron clarified. "like... a club of some sort."
Aurora looked between the three. "That's..." She took a moment to turn the idea over in her head. "...actually not a bad idea."
"What, like we ever have bad ideas?" Ron questioned. Aurora was about to bring up first year when the three decided to fight a troll in the bathrooms when Harry spoke up.
"Do you think people would?" He asked expectantly.
"Would what?"
"Want to be taught?"
Aurora nodded. "There's plenty of people, I'm sure. Already, from Ravenclaw, I can tell you Edward would— Luna, Evie— and hey, Harry," She wiggled her eyebrows teasingly with a smirk. "Probably Cho."
Harry began to blush, ready to refute her comment when Hermione cut in, "So... this is a good idea?"
"The best idea you lot have had in a while," Aurora confirmed with a smile. "It's about time we started shaking things up around here. It was getting to be a bit of a bore around here for a while."
"Can you let them know?" Harry requested.
"I'm on it," Aurora began to make her way out of the library, turning back to give them a smile and salute. Back in the hallways, she went off to find her fellow Ravenclaws.
As expected, she found them on their way to the Great Hall for supper. It looked like Evie and Edward had been arguing about some matter when Aurora stepped in front of them with a grin, almost making them trip.
"Hi guys," She greeted them as they stumbled backward in surprise.
"You look particularly bright," Edward noted, furrowing his brows in curiosity. Aurora had not looked this excited in a while. "What is it?"
She took her place side by side with them as they walked to their tables.
"Well... there's a proposition," She began slowly.
"A proposition?" Evie cocked an eyebrow.
"A proposition," Aurora nodded once in confirmation. "...there's a club forming..."
"What for?" Edward questioned as they took their seats, him immediately going for the whole rotisserie chicken. Evie let out a sound of disgust.
"For... defense against the dark arts," She said in a hushed whisper.
Edward appeared puzzled. "Like... a class?"
"Kind of— but more of a club. A small-ish group of us. In a club— or, uh, under the guise of a club..." She rambled on in attempt to find the best way to explain the entire ordeal.
Evie began to shake her head at this. "Hold your horses— I think Umbridge is trying to get rid of all clubs," She told her, picking off a vine of grapes from the table.
"That's why," Aurora emphasized before lowering her voice. "It's a secret."
Edward and Evie both sat there for a moment, thinking about this.
"I mean maybe..." Evie started.
"It could..." Edward pondered.
"It's a brilliant idea," Aurora said for them, smiling proudly. "Yes. I know. Harry, Hermione, and Ron came up with it. They're putting it in the works right now."
"More of a risky idea," Evie's face scrunched up with concern. "Do you know how much trouble we would get into if we were found out?"
"I would sign up," Edward shrugged with a mouthful of herb chicken. "You know what they say— live fast, die young. C'est la vie."
"Okay, well... I don't think anyone's going to die," Aurora snorted, amused by Edward's sentiment. "Maybe expelled? But nobody's going to find out."
"Well, who knows?" He queried.
"I've only told you guys. I don't know who else they've told, but I was thinking Luna and Cho probably would want to join," Aurora explained and Edward nodded in agreement.
"I could talk to them," He suggested and Evie pressed her lips together.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" She had to ask again, unsure of her friend's certainty.
"Just don't tell anyone else," She said in a light tone. "Are you in?"
When Evie stared down at her plate with her lip downturned, Aurora sent her a look. "Evie. You know you want to."
Evie thought for a moment, picking grapes off the stem and turning them over with her fingers. "I mean... okay."
Aurora cheered and threw her arms around her. "Perfect!"
They continued their dinner discussing the logistics of how the entire club would work, how they could meet and practice. As they went back to their dormitories Aurora for the first time in a long time felt some sense of hope and excitement.
The next day, Aurora had woken up feeling like a new person. For once, she had something to look forward to. Walking through the school, snow cascaded all around. Winter was swiftly approaching and Aurora pulled her jacket closer around her, feeling the tip of her nose becoming numb from the freezing air. Aurora and Edward were making their way to their first class when they ran into Harry and Ron in the halls.
Aurora's eye lit up upon seeing them, prompting her to greet them energetically. "I've news— Edward's in!"
"Did you..." Harry cleared his throat. "did you ask Cho?"
Aurora was about to tease him, holding in a laugh as he sheepishly looked to the floor.
"I told her," Edward nonchalantly answered Harry's burning question. At this, he seemed to light up subtly.
"Cho told Marietta though," He added.
"What?!" Aurora's eyes widened. "Edward! What did I say?!"
"I had no choice!" He protested, throwing his hands up in defense. "She did it before I could say she couldn't!"
Aurora groaned, setting her palm on her face in frustration. "Edward!"
"It's fine," Ron reassured them. "Just don't tell anyone else... and no Slytherins." Aurora bit her tongue. "I'm looking at you," Ron pointed toward her with raised brows. She had been thinking about getting Draco to join and she realized then why she couldn't.
She began to feel a conflicting sense of guilt in the pit of her stomach about the situation. She never kept secrets from Draco, but she knew he would not exactly be supportive of the whole ordeal. She knew how he felt about the ministry because of his father's involvement and she knew his sense of righteousness would not do the group well. It bothered her to no end, but she felt there was nothing she could do about him except hope he would somehow open his eyes and have a change of heart— this was unlikely. They had already argued multiple times about the matter with the same dead end result— agree to disagree.
"So..." Edward trailed off. "what are you naming it?"
"Huh?" Harry questioned, caught off-guard as his mind had been elsewhere in the moment.
"The club," He clarified.
Harry raised his brows at this and Ron's face scrunched up in thought. "That's a good question," He said.
"Club Anti-Umbridge," Aurora quipped causing Edward to grin.
"How 'bout Club Anti-Umbitch," Edward chimed in jokingly and she snickered in response.
Harry looked between them. "Well... I was thinking something more along the lines of just like... Defense Association, but..."
Edward tossed the idea around in his head, "I mean that's good too, I guess."
It was that afternoon they met with everyone they had talked to about their upcoming idea in Hogsmeade. And to their surprise, everyone who came to the meeting wanted to be a part of it. Apparently, most had had enough with the Ministry's influence over the school, so the idea was quickly becoming a reality, their plan being to find a place to meet first. Ginny had pointed out Defense Association's initials also stood for Dumbledore's Army, and that's what they decided to name it (Edward was very satisfied that they had a cool name). Coming back from Hogsmeade, Aurora stopped in the courtyard for a bit, admiring the snowfall. Glittering white dusted the rooftops and trees, melting upon contact with Aurora's skin. She smiled a bit, looking up at the way it fell, like soft confetti coming down all around her.
"Having fun?" A familiar voice had called out.
Aurora looked over her shoulder in the direction of the voice to find Draco there. Upon seeing him, her stomach immediately dropped with the knowledge that their was something going in her life that she couldn't tell him.
She turned to face him fully. "Are you stalking me?" She teased with a grin.
"No," He said sharply, scoffing. "I was just... passing by. On my way to the dorms."
"Uh huh. I'm sure."
He stood there for a moment, gazing at her admirably from his place underneath the overhang. His platinum blonde hair seemed to shine amongst all of the white, cheeks tinged a rosy pink from the freezing air and Aurora thought that he was so beautiful and cold.
"Why don't you come along before you freeze to death?" He motioned with a nod of his head towards the halls. "I'll make you a cup of Camomile."
"With a teaspoon of sugar?" She queried, appreciating the little detail in that he always knew her favorite tea. Her heart hurt inside her chest.
"Of course, love. Now hurry on."
Aurora skipped over to Draco, her coat covered in white shimmering powder, hair dusted in a layer of snow. She stood right before him as he grabbed her by her arms and pulled her toward him to hold her close. He stopped to stare at her delicate face in a moment of silence, mapping out her features in his head, tracing the curves and lines with his eyes.
"I love you," He said quietly and she clenched her jaw. She loved him so much and it was killing her inside to be keeping something from him.
"I love you too," She said and wrapped her arms around the Malfoy boy, pulling him close.
Because with all that was changing around her, maybe if she held him enough, she wouldn't have to let him go.