For the first time since they had been taking the train together, Harry and Pansy were running not just late, but very late. Hermione was sitting across from Luna, looking slightly uncomfortable when the door finally slid open. Harry had his arm around Pansy and guided her to one bench seat, as Luna scooted down and Pansy laid her head in the blonde's lap. Harry then helped her stretch out and put her feet up.
"Are you alright?" Luna asked.
"I can't feel my legs." Harry rolled his eyes at Pansy but removed her shoes and socks and began to rub her feet.
"Do I want to know?" Hermione doubted she did, but felt like she should be polite.
"You probably don't, but I would guess Luna would be very interested," Harry replied. Luna started to smile. "Why don't you two save it until when we go to the Prefects' meeting, okay?"
"I suppose I can wait that long."
"Thank you, Luna. I appreciate it," Hermione added. "Speaking of which, we do need to head that way in a couple of minutes."
"You'll just have to finish when you get back," Pansy sighed. Harry squeezed her feet as she reluctantly lifted them off his lap and he stood, ready to follow Hermione out of the compartment.
"Don't have too much fun without me," he said as he closed the door behind him.
"So?'
"You know that tongue thing he does that I told you about?"
"Oh yes," Luna answered, even dreamier than usual.
"Harry wasn't quite ready for the summer to end, so it was hard to get him out of bed today."
"He held you down and forced you to have mind-blowing orgasms? The cad!"
"I know," Pansy snorted. "Do you mind if I stay in your lap till he gets back?"
"Not at all."
"Good. I try to take advantage of every opportunity I get for one of Harry's foot rubs."
"He seems to be a man of many talents," Luna grinned.
"I only care about the important ones."
Harry was bored when he finally returned half an hour later, but he tried to cheer up as he heard giggles when he headed back to the girls. He hid a grin as Pansy clearly was trying to school her features when he opened the door. It was funny to think that she was manipulating him into pampering her- they had played that game a thousand times by now, so they both clearly knew what they were doing. Oh well, he would just have to make sure she repaid his efforts later that night.
He didn't hide the second grin that came out to play at those thoughts. Her hormones were almost keeping up with his own lately. Was it any wonder that he loved her?
"Did you have fun at the meeting?" Luna asked as Harry sat down and Pansy plopped her feet back in his lap. He took the oh-so-subtle hint.
"I'm sure Hermione enjoyed it more than I did."
"I don't know what you're complaining about," Hermione answered. "Most of the other prefects seemed perfectly fine to me. We didn't have any problems at the meeting. Can you imagine if Malfoy were still around?"
"Now look who's speaking ill of the dead for a change," Harry joked. "Yeah, he definitely would have been a nightmare. It probably just would have been a question of which of us punched him first."
"Tut, tut- resorting to muggle violence, Harry?" Pansy said with a raised eyebrow. "Aren't you supposed to be better than that?"
"Magical violence is more potent, but sometimes I think a nice visceral thrill from doing things with my bare hands might be even more satisfying. I'd love to just strangle Riddle to death in his sleep."
"If you could travel through time, you could go back and smother him in his crib as a baby," Luna suggested. "You could save countless lives that way."
"That is similar to a typical ethical question from the muggle world," Hermione said. "Would it be moral to kill Hitler as a child? Would it be evil to kill an innocent child if you could stop the holocaust and World War II? It would save tens of millions of lives. I don't know that even then I could smother a baby in a crib."
"Not even Hitler?" Harry gaped. "I'd do that easy. I'd do it to Riddle too."
"You sound so callous, Harry," Hermione chided. "There is a huge difference between killing a Death Eater in self-defense in the middle of a fight and murdering an unarmed, helpless child."
Harry just shrugged before Luna piped up.
"I'm with Harry. The lives lost to the Death Eaters are worth far more than any guilt I might feel about murdering Riddle, regardless of how old he might have been."
"I suppose you agree with them too?" Hermione suggested to Pansy, who smirked and nodded.
"Was there any doubt? I've got a list of people I'd like to have drowned at birth."
"I hope I'm not on it."
"Not today, Granger." Pansy turned to Harry. "So, who are the other Slytherins? I'm not worried about Daphne or Zabini."
"How did you know they would be chosen as the prefects?" Hermione asked.
"Use your brain. Who is the head of Slytherin? Who are members of the Slug Club? It was incredibly simple deduction."
"You're right, of course," Harry interjected before Pansy and Hermione could do more than narrow their eyes at each other. "The problems could be the sixth and seventh years. Montague and Warrington."
"Ugh," Pansy replied. "What about the girls?"
"The sixth year is Gemma Boyle. I don't know the seventh year's name."
"Chloe Abbot," Hermione added. "I believe she's one of Hannah's cousins."
"The magical world is a small place," Pansy said.
"Got a moment?" Hestia asked, as the Carrow girls appeared at the doorway.
"Of course," Harry grinned. "What can we do for you two lovely ladies?"
"Just don't make me sit up," Pansy said with a wave. "You could actually help us out. Do you remember how closely Hannah and Chloe Abbot are related?"
"Second cousins," Hestia answered.
"Regardless of Hes's hobby, we came by for a couple of other reasons," Flora said as she sat next to Hermione. "First of all, any thoughts about when we might try to start meeting?"
"You're in a hurry," Harry chuckled. "We haven't even made it to the castle yet."
"You don't have to worry about the people up in your tower doing anything more than annoying you, Harry."
"Yeah, right. Sorry." He closed his eyes and thought for a moment. "We've only got the one day of classes before the weekend, so let's plan on mentioning the idea to anyone who might want in and then maybe..."
"Meet us in the library Saturday afternoon," Pansy finished. "But be discreet about who you talk to about this . We might want to try to get a staff sponsor before we start any sort of organized group, and we definitely don't want the wrong sort showing up."
"I don't know about that," Harry said as he gave a rather wicked grin. "I had thought of a warning for anyone who might not be trustworthy before we get started. I don't know if we want a staff sponsor, either. I have a feeling most of the teachers wouldn't approve of some of my ideas."
"Who would?" Hestia asked.
"Moody," Harry and Pansy answered in tandem.
"You'll just have to see what this year's Defense professor is like," Flora suggested. "And think of a back up or two as well."
"I'm torn on asking Slughorn," Harry sighed. "On the one hand, with half his Slug Club involved, that could make him either more or less likely. He could see it as competition, or he could see it as a way to reward some of his favorites. I'm not sure which is more likely."
"On the other hand, he might not want to be involved with something like that," Hestia stated. "Teachers don't usually do a lot of fighting against terrorists."
"No, that's another reason why I've been trying to think of others I could ask instead. If I was closer with Flitwick, he'd probably be the best choice."
"He was a dueling champion," Hermione nodded. "He's a brilliant teacher as well and could probably suggest things for us all to work on."
"You might want to try Babbling," Pansy said. "You are one of her favorite students. Didn't you even beat Granger on the final exam? For the second year in a row, I believe."
"That just means that I'll have to work harder to beat him on the OWLs this year," Hermione replied.
"Anyway, there was something else I wanted to mention," Flora interrupted. "We also saw a group that we're going to have to keep an eye on in a compartment as we headed this way. Warrington, Montague, Crabbe and Goyle along with Bletchley and a couple of others I didn't recognize."
"Crabbe and Goyle do seem the type to be beaters, but I don't see why Harry needs to start worrying about quidditch already," Hermione rolled her eyes.
"You didn't tell her?" Flora asked.
"Not yet." Harry shrugged. "She's not Moody, so it wasn't something for any of us to worry about during the summer."
"What am I missing? Is this about the Death Eaters? I know Crabbe and Goyle-"
"Warrington's father and Montague's uncle," Flora replied before her sister corrected her.
"Other way around."
"Whatever. Either way, both of the little bastards are primed to be on the other side of things once the attacks start, and we have to worry about them trying to cause problems in our house too. You can see why we're wanting to start learning, Harry."
"I know," he sighed. "No quiet years at Hogwarts for me. I'll figure out what to do about whether or not to ask a teacher for sponsorship. Then we'll have to find a place to meet too."
"Meet about what?" asked one of the Weasley twins as they stuck their heads in the door.
"Georgie, that clearly isn't the most important question." Fred shoved his brother aside and stepped into the compartment. "What's your secret?"
"My secret?"
"You're constantly surrounded by pretty girls. I like to think some of it is our good influence rubbing off."
"He's a man of many talents," Luna smiled dreamily.
"Uh, sure, thanks Luna. Aren't you still dating Angelina?"
"Yes. And speaking of the old ball and chain-"
"I'll tell her you said that."
"You wouldn't," Fred feigned horror. "Besides, who's she going to believe? Her amazing boyfriend or the boy wonder?"
"Boy wonder," George interjected. "Harry doesn't have any reason to lie to her. Besides, he is quite dashing, isn't he ladies?"
"Yes," Hestia answered before blushing at her response.
"Thank you, miss Carrow, for proving my point. Anyway, Harry, before Fred started trying to dig a hole for himself, he was going to let you know that Angie is our captain this year and she's already talking about holding try outs for a keeper this weekend. Ron's been driving us all mental as he's hoping to make the team. I hope that won't be any problem for you."
"No. I've survived having you two for teammates, after all."
"I am wounded," George groaned. "As if either of us at our worst is as bad as our baby brother. We just wanted to make sure things weren't going to be too tense between the two of you. I know you've had a couple of shouting matches before."
"Not on my part, at least," Harry shrugged. "It's not like I hate Ron or anything. We just grew apart, and his insecurity and jealousy wasn't something I had time to deal with when someone was apparently out to kill me.
"Which is more often than not, sadly."
The rest of the train ride passed by quickly despite visits by a few people. Once the Carrow and Weasley twins had left, Harry had received a swat when Parvati showed up but with Lavender in tow instead of Padma.
There was no hat trick, but at least Hermione was on better terms with her roommates than she had been a couple of years back. From what he had heard, they had all bonded a bit during the Yule Ball preparation, not to mention that Harry had slowly gotten through to her about not being such a show off in class all the time. Lavender and Parvati both asked about the dementors and the trial and Hermione told them what she knew as well as what Sam had suspected about it being a political attack against Harry.
She didn't have any known enemies out there, other than due to being in his inner circle of friends.
Susan Bones, Hannah Abbot, and Ernie Macmillan all came by as well, and it seemed like Susan had been talking to her aunt because she was very interested in picking Harry's brain about the extra Defense lessons he had received from Mad-Eye Moody. Over her parents' objections, she was still planning on following in her aunt's footsteps by becoming an auror.
Ernie was already thinking ahead to the OWLs and assumed that Harry would be of great help for that class, which led to him talking with Hermione about all the studying the two of them were looking forward to. Hermione narrowed her eyes at Harry when he pointed out to Pansy and Luna that they had been correct in labeling her as the bigger Hufflepuff.
Hannah, on the other hand, was just following along with her friends, but she couldn't help but gawk a bit at Harry. It was similar to how Parvati had looked at him, although minus the out right flirting. It seemed that going to contacts full time was going to lead to more female attention that he didn't particularly want. Harry was only concerned about not losing his glasses again the next time someone tried to kill him.
The gallows humor of that thought didn't even register.
But Harry did notice Pansy's grumbling once the three Hufflepuffs had left. Susan having more reason to talk to Harry was not something she was in favor of- despite their relationship being public now, Harry hadn't officially declined any of the betrothal offers yet. Oh, he had offered to- but Pansy insisted that the smarter, more political move would be to leave them open until they were finished with school.
Her brain wasn't necessarily in agreement with the rest of her though, and even as Harry had decided to follow her logic, he had secretly told Sam to have letters declining them all prepared for as soon as they were in the clear. And he had the process for canceling the marriage contract with Susan memorized, with plans to do that as the first thing when he was done at Hogwarts.
All of that though paled with what they had to deal with once they arrived at the Great Hall for the welcoming feast to Harry's fifth year. Staring down at them from the staff table was the odious Delores Umbridge.
Fifth year was already starting off on the wrong foot, and Harry had a feeling it was only going to get worse.
The first day of classes was a Friday, and he was never more thankful that the weekend was coming after noticing the continued glares being sent his way by Umbridge, who had been introduced as the ministry's special investigator into the declining standards at Hogwarts.
She had already made the professors disgusted by that little comment, but Harry had to grudgingly admit that they weren't really held to much in the way of regulations from what he had seen. Not only because of bastards like Snape and Lockhart, though. Harry still had no idea how Hagrid wasn't allowed to legally own a wand but was able to become a teacher. And that was only a few months after being wrongfully sent to Azkaban, without a trial no less.
The magical world was fucking insane.
However, there was also some good news. The new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was once again a retired auror, this one named Gordon Watts, and Harry was going to be in his second class. Sirius had let him know that Moody had helped Dumbledore recruit Watts who apparently had great respect for Alastor due to something that had happened back during the first war with Voldemort.
Professor Watts seemed to be a rather timid man though, and he did nothing more than lecture over what he had planned for that year and how he would teach them the sorts of things they would be expected to know for their OWL exams at the end of the year.
It was definitely not what Harry was hoping for, but maybe he was still finding his feet. Not everyone was a natural teacher- and there was no way possible he could be any worse than Quirrell or Lockhart any way.
Of course, it could have had to do with Umbridge, who was there observing the class and taking copious notes. Harry had a feeling that she was going to be a huge problem, and knowing his luck, probably sooner than later.
Harry had hoped to speak with Watts after the class, but in the scramble to get to lunch, he was thwarted as Watts left the room too quickly. He wondered if he was fleeing Umbridge, the students, or possibly just hungry.
Harry's disappointment didn't last too long though as the mid day meal brought Luna over to visit and that afternoon he had Charms, which was always fun and usually interesting as well. But Harry was no closer to solving his riddle about a potential staff sponsor for what he imagined was going to be a rather large club once word got out that he would be running it.
Pansy was happy to help him de-stress that Friday night.
Harry still had a lot to deal with that weekend. First up, Angelina called the veterans over at breakfast and told them that they had the pitch from nine till noon. They were going to do some drills after the keeper tryouts. She already seemed to be channeling some of Wood's mania.
At least the weather was nice.
The girls were in front, then Fred and George were joking about something together, while Harry brought up the rear of the formation as they all headed for the quidditch pitch. There was a surprising amount of cheering coming from the stands. It looked like most of Gryffindor had turned up to watch the try outs and practice.
"Our adoring crowd," George said as he threw an arm over Harry's shoulder. "I don't think Freddie realizes how many good looking birds there are eager for a catch like me. He's going to be missing out."
"Maybe he really likes Angelina," Harry suggested.
"You would say that, you little romantic. I'll just have to sow his oats for him then. I met a couple of foxy muggle girls this summer and Fred wasn't there to play wingman. Isn't that the point of having a twin brother?"
"You're asking the wrong guy, George."
"Will you two knock it off and get over here?" Angelina yelled. "Now, Harry, I trust your girls up there won't be repeating anything to Ravenclaw or Slytherin?"
"Huh?" He looked up at the stands where she was pointing. "No, that shouldn't be any worry. Luna doesn't care about quidditch, and she would choose Pansy and I over her housemates any day. And you definitely don't have to worry about my girlfriend."
"I better not. Alright. First up, we've only got three people auditioning for the role of keeper. We're going to start off simple, just seeing how they are at stopping shots. Boys, I want you all to be watching their forms while us girls put them through their paces."
Angelina led them over to the potential keepers. Along with Ron, there was a sixth year boy named Hooper, who was fairly tall and chubby heading towards fat, and a fourth year girl named Vicky Frobisher, a short blonde that Harry knew was one of Ginny's friends.
"We're going to do this by age. That means you're up first, Hooper. Weasley, you're next, then Frobisher. Five shots each to start. Everybody in the air!"
Harry shot up, relishing the chance to ride his Firebolt for the first time in months. He'd have to remember and properly thank Sirius one of these days for the gift- it had been anonymous for the first several months he had owned it. He'd need to get the mirror out tonight. His godfather would probably be good for bouncing ideas off about the group that he was already starting to plan for in his mind.
A cry of frustration brought Harry's attention back to the quidditch. Hooper had missed the first shot. The next hour passed slowly. Angelina was putting all three keeper candidates through their paces, and Katie and Alicia both looked pretty well spent too. Fred and George seemed to be enjoying things, although Angelina had yelled at them already twice when they were spotted joking around instead of watching the keepers for their form.
Harry wondered just what the hell he was supposed to know about keeper form. His eyes naturally drifted over towards the stands where the girls were chatting and occasionally cheering. Lavender in particular seemed to be rooting for Ron. Hermione was as well, which made Harry wonder if they were still friendlier than he thought.
Sitting a little further away, Ginny and a couple of other girls were clearly not rooting for her brother, but instead their yearmate Vicky. From his count, she was doing better than either of the guys.
It was somewhat odd once Harry realized it, but this team's make up had to be something of a record. Angelina and the twins had all been starters since they were second years. Alicia was only a reserve, but she joined the line up along with Katie in Harry's first year. Other than having to replace Oliver Wood, it was the same team as four years ago.
He groaned to himself when he realized what this would mean for his sixth year- only Katie would be back with him. He really, really didn't want to be the captain if they were going to have to overhaul the entire team.
Finally, Angelina called for time and asked each of the keepers for a few minutes to chat. Harry took the chance and flew over to the stands.
"Miss me already?" Pansy asked with a smirk. He flew down lower and leaned over to kiss her.
"You have no idea. This has been so boring." Luna and Parvati both giggled. "What time is it anyway?"
"Twenty after ten," Hermione answered and Harry muttered to himself. "What's wrong Harry? I thought you'd enjoy the chance to get out on your broom again."
"That would be nice if I was doing some actual flying. I can already tell that Angelina is going to be a taskmaster. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Katie and Alicia will make her cut today short. Those two have been working up a sweat while I've basically just been twiddling my thumbs."
"You could always go offer to help," Parvati suggested. "I bet you'd make a decent chaser. Isn't that the position your dad played when he was here?"
"From what I've been told, yeah. I suppose Sirius is always saying that I've inherited my flying ability from my dad, so I might give it a shot. It couldn't be any worse than being bored out of my mind."
"You may be tempting fate, Harry," Luna warned.
"Fate can't always be on my back about everything." Harry looked worried for a second. "I hope."
"Potter, get down here!"
Harry did a loop de loop and flew off with a flourish.
"Yes boss?"
"Don't get cute with me, Harry. What did you think of the three keepers?"
"I think Vicky was the best. I couldn't tell much difference between Ron and Hooper."
"You're right, but sadly, I don't think Frobisher is going to work out."
"Why not?" Katie asked with a frown. "She stopped three more shots than either of the guys."
"I know," Angelina grumbled. "But she has a busy schedule and when I talked to her about practices, she admitted she didn't think she'd be up to even twice weekly."
Harry had to stifle a groan. Twice weekly was more than twice as often as he would have preferred.
"Then is it going to be Ron or Hooper?" Fred asked.
"I'm not sure yet. I think I might have them both come out again in a few days. I was thinking we could have a simulated match. Split us in half and let the result be the decider. That means you'll be playing chaser, Harry. Don't worry though, I'll put you with me."
"Sounds fun."
"Good, then I'll call it a day before these two fall over on me," Angelina said as she pointed over at Alicia and Katie. "I'll see about booking the pitch again for... say Tuesday?"
The team agreed and Harry led the charge as they flew towards the locker rooms to get changed.
"Let's look over the list again," Pansy suggested once Harry bid Sirius goodnight. His godfather had been busy lately charming a dozen sets of mirrors for members of the Order of the Phoenix. So far, the Death Eaters were still keeping quiet, but no one knew how long that would last.
"Okay."
"Starting with you reckless Gryffindors, always ready to jump in a fight." Pansy poked Harry in the side when he snorted at her. "The entire quidditch team is interested, and who knows how many friends they'll bring. We believe all of your yearmates will also want to come. Little Ginny Weasley and some of her friends too. That's probably twenty or more people just from Gryffindor. Not to mention some of the younger students, many of whom clearly look up to you."
"I've been thinking about that too. I'm probably going to have to turn down anyone in second year or lower."
"Why?"
"I just don't think they'll be able to keep up with some of the magic," Harry shrugged. "Disarming and dodging spells is something that pretty much anyone should be able to do, but that's going to be the very first lesson. When we get to shield charms, or hex deflection? Let alone some of the other things Moody suggested in his notebook that he left me. I'm not going to slow down teaching the upper years, which would mean the younger kids would either struggle to keep up or just flat out fail. That would probably do more harm than good."
"If the younger years want to learn more, you could always suggest they have a secondary study group. Get someone who wants extra practice at some of the basics to help teach the first two years. Granger might be likely. They could do that by house too, to keep the groups smaller. Maybe have a prefect lead? That is sort of what they're supposed to do."
"Which is funny to me," Harry snorted. "I've barely ever interacted with prefects in any of my first four years. I'm glad this whole patrolling the halls nonsense is only once every couple of weeks. What a stupid waste of time."
"You do have the map."
"Yeah. I just have to get Hermione to agree to use it instead of wandering around randomly. I have a feeling that will be the hard part."
"She does tend to be a stickler for rules."
"Usually. When it suits her, she'll break them left and right, but she has to be convinced it's for a good cause."
"Regardless, at least this way you officially have access to that bathroom again. Did I tell you that I brought my bikini?"
"God, I love you."
"Don't forget it, Harry," Pansy grinned as he leaned in and nibbled on her ear. "I would like it if next time we didn't have Moaning Myrtle watching though."
"Did you know she was a Ravenclaw?"
"No. Why?"
"I'm just wondering if it's something having to do with that house that the witches all seem to be pervy little voyeurs."
"Two examples is hardly all of them." Pansy frowned and thought for a moment. "I did hear about another though. You know that ginger witch that's always hanging around Cho Chang?"
"Marietta something or other?"
"That's the one. Supposedly she was caught spying on a couple of seventh years last term with her hand up her skirt."
"Poor girl. I'd hate to get busted for something like that."
"Why would you need to be wanking while watching other people? For that matter, when would you have the time?"
"I'm just being sympathetic." Harry rolled his eyes. "Not everything has to have a deeper meaning or secondary motive. This is why I wasn't meant for Slytherin. I'm not suspicious about every little thing."
"You're one of the most paranoid people I know, you goofus."
"With good reason, and only about the people that might be out to kill me or the people I care about. My track record is proof enough that it isn't paranoia if they really are out to get me. Like that toad-faced bitch from the ministry."
"She has been glaring at you a lot. You'd almost think she was channeling Snape." Pansy forced Harry to sit up. "Did you hear that she audited Potions the other day?"
"I can imagine how that went. Professor Slughorn is a well-connected pureblood who has raised the standards of the class by a large amount. He must have received a glowing review."
"Indeed," Pansy grinned. Harry being perceptive to things like that always made her proud. And a little bit horny too. "But I've watched dear old Sluggy at meal times and he hasn't looked too interested in being friendly with her."
"Really? That's strange. You would think she'd be right up his alley, being a high ranking figure in the ministry."
"I know. We'll have to see how things develop. I do like Slughorn though, so I've got a good feeling about it. But, we need to get back on topic. What did Bones have to say?"
"Around a dozen from Hufflepuff will probably come out to start. Once I get to the more aggressive lessons though? I doubt many will stick around. Susan maybe, but Hannah was already flinching just at the idea of fighting. If her best friends weren't interested, I doubt she would come at all."
"Well, while you were busy with that cow Bones, I spoke to Flora and Hestia. I'm pretty sure we'll have nine or ten Slytherin girls coming."
"Just girls?"
"Would you want any of the Slytherin guys?"
"None that I'm aware of," Harry replied. "I didn't want to assume they were all evil without getting more information from people that would know better though."
"From our year, every guy was the son of either a Death Eater or a serial killer. Doesn't that tell you enough?"
"Okay. I'm hardly one to argue considering how all the quidditch players have been a bunch of thugs too. I didn't want to automatically tar everyone with the same brush."
"Moving on, Luna had been approached by only a few Ravenclaws, but I know Parvati was talking to her sister about it, so I believe we'll see roughly ten again. That puts us up to maybe fifty people. We're going to need a big room."
"The real question is how many stick around once I get past the introductory stuff. I'm not going to pull any punches, so if people think this is just going to be some fun little club, I'll have to show them otherwise."
"How are you going to do that?"
"I have an idea. I'll need to talk to McGonagall after class Tuesday. Good thing we have lunch right after that."
"Why?"
"I need to ask her about a spell."
"And?"
"Come on, let me have my surprise. You'll love it, trust me. Besides, I won't have to do it for a couple of weeks or more. Now as for needing a big enough room-"
"Dobby knows, master Harry!"
"You do?"
"Oh, yes sir. Hogwartsies house-elves don't keep secrets from Dobby. They know Dobby is part of the Great Harry Potter's family. They remember master Harry driving away the demons and protecting the school."
"Okay, well I'm glad they're still fond of me. What do you suggest?"
"The come and go room! Miss Pansy already found it almost three years ago."
"On the seventh floor?" she clarified.
"That's the one, miss. The room is magical and can be used for whatever needs master Harry might have."
"Hmm," Harry scratched his neck. "It would probably work from what we've seen the few times we've been there. But do we want everyone to know about it?"
"Not at first," Pansy answered. "It's too valuable to let anyone in on the secret without knowing for a fact that they won't screw us over."
"Yeah. I can't argue with that."
Pansy leaned back and tapped her foot on the table in front of them. Harry closed his eyes and rolled his neck around. They sat in silence for a couple of minutes as both considered the other elements about this planned group. How many teenagers would really want to learn to fight and how many would just treat it like a game? Neither she nor Harry had faith that even half of them would really be up for anything serious.
And if most of those were Slytherins? Pansy could already imagine the fickle little community losing their damn minds about that. Especially with them all being girls- rumors of Harry having a harem might start up again.
"What about a teacher?" she asked.
"I'm not going to bother with that unless it becomes necessary. If it does, I'll probably go to Babbling first. You were right in suggesting her. She does favor me and she's just the right age to remember growing up during Riddle's reign of terror. I think she'd be by far the best bet."
"Okay. We still need to figure out where to start though."
"Hmm," Harry muttered. "We won't have time during the week. Not with classes starting back up and everyone getting used to the schedule. Plus Angelina wanting to start up with quidditch immediately. So..."
Harry trailed off, but he had a small grin when Pansy looked over at him.
"So? Come on, I know that look. What is it?"
"Outside," he replied. "The weather's still nice, so we do it outside. Either out on the front lawn or in one of the courtyards. The first lesson will be simple. People will need to get back in practice at using magic anyway, and it's not like I'm going to be showing anything serious off."
"Therefore, no reason to hide at the start."
"Right. It will just be a bunch of students practicing spells."
"I have a feeling that Umbridge will be watching us. We know she's been keeping her eye on you every chance she's had."
"Yeah, I know. But what can she do about something simple like that? The point of the school is to learn magic- it's not like she can ban students from practicing their spells. I can't imagine Dumbledore, McGonagall, or anyone else would put up with that. And the parents would definitely come down hard on her for interfering with the education of their children."
"Fair enough. But we need to be cautious. I don't trust that bitch at all. You did say she was pushing the hardest against Hermione during her trial, and she was one of the few that voted guilty despite what a farce it was. That might as well have been waving a sign that she was a supporter of the Dark Lord, if not an outright Death Eater."
"Agreed," Harry nodded. "Hey, Dobby?"
"Yes, master Harry?"
"Can you help keep an eye on Umbridge for us? Especially next weekend, if that's when we do this."
"Of course Dobby will. Nasty witch will not be allowed to harm Dobby's family."
"That's what I like to hear," Harry said with a smile as he squeezed the house-elf's shoulder. "We really appreciate all you do for us, but I'm glad the most for helping to keep us all safe."
As Dobby blushed, Luna's voice called out from the mirror sitting on the table.
"Pansy?"
"Hi Luna. We were just talking about everyone wanting to learn how to protect themselves from Harry."
"Oh, I definitely don't want to be protected from Harry. He's too cuddly and I wouldn't want to miss out on that."
"You know what she means, Luna," Harry interjected. "Do I need to give you two some privacy? I could go take a shower."
"Hold on a second," Pansy said to Luna as she looked over at her boyfriend. "How many sets of mirrors did you get working?"
"I had a couple that worked alright before the set I charmed for Luna."
"And how many do we still have that you could do?"
"At least four I think. Why?"
"We might want to have one half of a pair with someone in each house, once we really get this started. If we're going to be meeting more discreetly, it could be useful to have a way to contact people with more secrecy."
"You've already got me in Ravenclaw," Luna suggested. "That would just leave a Slytherin and a Hufflepuff."
"It might be a good idea to have another in Gryffindor too," Harry added. "Hermione, probably. Then one for Flora and Hestia in Slytherin? And I guess Susan would make the most sense for the Hufflepuffs."
"Hmmph," Pansy grunted.
"Oh, don't be like that," Luna cheerfully scolded. "You know Harry loves your boobies more than hers."
"Yeah, I do. I can prove it, if you like," Harry offered.
"That will have to wait," Luna replied. "Let us talk, then you can end the night with a proper bed time shag."
"Why don't you go take that shower?" Pansy proposed. "Afterwards, you can show me a suitable amount of appreciation in the bedroom."
"Remind her that she's a lucky girl, Harry!"
"I will Luna. Goodnight sweetie."
Monday's afternoon classes ended with Harry finally getting to speak, if only briefly, with the new Defense professor. Gordon Watts agreed to schedule a meeting with him but it would have to wait until another week had gone by. Supposedly he had too much work to do getting used to the schedule of being a teacher.
It was a start at least, and they had actually used their wands in class that day. Practicing the shield charm, which was old hat to Harry, but he couldn't deny it's usefulness. Nor the fact that it was probably a good way to shake off rust for much of the class.
He had just entered the Gryffindor tower when he heard Parvati and Lavender practically yelling.
"That awful toad is a vile bitch!"
"What are you going to do about it? She's from the ministry, Parvati. We can't stop her, and if we tried, she would probably have us in Azkaban. That's what she tried to do to Hermione Granger of all people. I'm going to keep quiet and hope she leaves me alone."
Parvati's angry growl was not something he had heard before.
"What's going on?" Harry asked to the guys in his year who had been watching. No comment necessary on the reason why- upset girls meant heaving bosoms- but Harry couldn't really blame them. He was happily taken, but he wasn't blind.
"It was that witch from the ministry," Dean responded. "She was in Divination this afternoon, and she was very rude and dismissive of professor Trelawney."
"Oh. That's not much of a surprise, I guess. I'm glad I'm not in that class. Umbridge already glares at me during meals. It's sort of been putting me off food. I might have to start eating in the kitchens."
"Harry!" Parvati came striding over as she spotted him. "You've got to do something about her."
"Me? Why me?"
"Who else is going to? She's a nightmare."
"No argument there. I'm just not sure what you expect from me."
"Can't you like... sick your lawyer on her?" Parvati suggested.
"I don't have any cause to yet, but it's not a bad idea. The only problem is that her supposed reason for being here is potentially valid."
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked. "You can't say you want the ministry to interfere with Hogwarts!"
"I'm not saying I trust them to do anything right," Harry assured her. "I was right beside you at the trial. I know the government, at least the current one under that idiot Fudge, doesn't work at all. But the idea that Hogwarts hasn't been run very well does have merit."
"I trust professor Dumbledore so much more than the ministry, Harry. I would think you would too."
"I'm not trying to make this personal Hermione, but let's look at facts. Our first Defense teacher was a possessed follower of the Dark Lord who died at the end of the year, and he let the troll in that nearly killed you, remember? Not to mention that he was killing unicorns and tried to kill me a couple of times. All of that, and no official investigation.
"Our second year featured a fraud and confidence artist who was practically useless with a wand who ended the year accidentally erasing all his memories when, once again, the Defense professor nearly got me killed. Meanwhile, several students get attacked and petrified. One has to wonder if the fact that all of the victims were muggleborns like you was the reason for the lack of concern. Regardless, a basilisk was unleashed on a school full of children and once again, no official investigation.
"Third year, the ministry is so fucking retarded that they nearly killed us all by stationing those fucking soul-devouring monsters around a school. Then, a Death Eater gets out of prison and heads straight here where he challenges me to a duel. Meanwhile, a second Death Eater has been hiding right under the headmaster's nose as a rat and he nearly escapes. A third Death Eater was ruining Potions education for more than a decade before I called in the life debt he betrayed.
"Fourth year, we had a prestigious event here at Hogwarts that was infiltrated and screwed up by agents of Tom Riddle all in yet another plot to get me killed. A ministry department head died, a foreign wizard was placed under the Imperius curse and performed the murder (both happening here at the castle yet again), and the year ended up bookended with violence involving terrorists that has been officially disregarded as mere 'rogue Death Eaters.' As if we should all feel better that murderers escaped justice and are out and about in society but at least they claim that the Dark Lord hasn't returned.
"Thankfully, we didn't have any problems with any teachers last year. I think it's clear that this is just some nonsense meant to be a smokescreen, to keep people from focusing on the more important problems that Fudge and his cronies don't want to deal with. But there have been serious problems at Hogwarts every year that I've been here, so I can't say that they don't have an excuse that a lot of people would accept."
"Then what do you expect us to do, Harry?" Hermione replied. "Let her ruin our education during our OWL year? Let her continually harass people and disturb all our classes? If you're paying so much attention, then you must have realized that Umbridge has already just so happened to audit three of our fifth year classes and that's only in the first two days. She's got it out for you, me, or both of us. With the way she's been glaring at me, I keep feeling like she's going to hex me in the back."
"I understand," Harry answered as he pulled Hermione in for a hug. She was slightly trembling, and he couldn't blame her for being upset. "We all should be careful around her. Don't be surprised if she tries to bait us into something. Other than that, I don't know what to do yet."
"I don't trust her, Harry," Hermione griped after she was finished with the hug. "You'll need to be careful too."
"Don't worry. My paranoia is still going strong, so I've got my eyes wide open."
When they got back into their quarters that night, Pansy didn't bother wasting time before mentioning the elephant in the room.
"I hope this retarded nonsense with that ugly toad doesn't distract us too much from other things. Are you still thinking of a meeting next weekend?"
"Yes. I was going to suggest Saturday after lunch. Who knows how long the good weather will last."
"And Umbridge?"
"She's Fudge's undersecretary. Getting rid of her could be challenging. Especially if we try to do it politically."
"I know. Do you have a backup plan?"
"Not yet."
"What if she goes after me, Harry?" Pansy asked.
"Do you think she would try that?"
"I've heard that she was in Slytherin, so there's bound to be some cunning hidden under that gross flabby body."
"Ugh, don't-"
"She was one of the ones leading the charge against the girl under your patronage. I don't think that was a coincidence," Pansy stated.
"I don't believe in coincidence," Harry muttered. "If she is stupid enough to go after you, then she'll learn one last lesson here at Hogwarts. Fitting really, to do it at a school."
"What lesson is that?" Pansy asked with a smirk.
"That trying to harm the woman I love is a death sentence."
"Good answer, Harry." Pansy climbed onto his lap and began sucking on his neck. "What would you do to her?"
"Let's just say there wouldn't be enough left to bury." Harry groaned as she started to unbutton his shirt. "Bedroom?"
"Definitely."