“…Strengthen and increase our admiration of honest dealing and clean thinking, and suffer not our hatred of hypocrisy and pretense ever to diminish. Encourage us in our endeavor to live above the common level of life. Make us to choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong, and never to be content with a half-truth when the whole can be won. Endow us with courage that is born of loyalty to all that is noble and worthy, that scorns to compromise with vice and injustice and knows no fear when truth and right are in jeopardy…”
-Excerpt from the prayer of the Corps of Cadets, United States Military Academy
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry 1556 hours’ local time
The first thing they did upon leaving was to restore the classroom to its former state. The desks and chairs were put back in their original positions and the conference, table and chairs were put back in their original places and forms.
“This is only to placate some unsuspecting teacher,” Hermione said when she had finished. “I want to summon the D.A. to meet here, since it’s fairly obvious no one will feel comfortable using the Room of Requirement anymore. Now come here,” she said. “I’ve got something to show you.” She took them back to the entrance to the (now full) Gryffindor common room and told them to wait at the entrance; after five minutes with the Fat Lady staring disapprovingly at them, as if on the verge of asking whether or not the Gryffindors would come in or just stand there. Hermione came out of the common room with a little wooden box. She motioned for them to follow and they left the glaring Fat Lady behind and walked into the hall. She then opened the box to reveal forty small, square, black wooden folding mirrors.
“I’ve been working on these all year,” Hermione said, her face flushing with excitement. “Just tap the mirrors with your wand and speak in your names and voices. With your names and voiceprint recorded, open it up and a facial recognition charm will record your faces. This allows for real-time audio and / or visual two-way communication.” At the confused looks on Ron, Ginny, Neville, and Luna’s faces she said in an explanatory tone, “It will allow us to talk to each other over a distance of two miles away instantaneously.”
At this Ginny said, excited and happy, “Great idea, si… er I mean great idea Hermione,” she said embarrassed. Ginny, like Luna, seemed all too eager to take on the mannerisms of the paramilitary life that felt would become all too necessary in the coming days; was all to necessary now.
“Oh,” Hermione said, “that reminds me. Don’t go around showing them to just anyone. Any unauthorized user will receive an excruciating 60-second surge of electricity with effects like that of a Muggle TASER. Don’t worry about yourselves though, each mirror is cross-linked so that one mirror ‘knows’ the voiceprint and image of whoever owns another mirror of the same type.” If she is telling us that now so we would feel comfortable handling the mirror, Harry thought. It wasn’t working because no one, Harry included, was willing to touch one of them.
“Oh,” Hermione said encouragingly, “the mirrors defense systems don’t work at all when they’re not programmed.” Only then did they each pick up a mirror and program it. The facial recognition charms turned out to be nothing more than a ray of soft golden light that left a tingling situation on their faces as it passed over them.
“Now we need to hunt down the D.A. members from the various Houses,” Hermione said.
“Do we have to do that personally?” Ron asked. “Can’t we just use the contact Galleons?”
“Be reasonable, Ron,” Hermione said, interrupting, “if they didn’t answer our calls on the night of the raid, what makes you think they’ll listen to the contact Galleons today, one month later?”
They then split up into three groups, Harry and Ron would locate the Gryffindor D.A. members that were still available, Lavender Brown, Colin Creevey, Seamus Finnegan, and Dean Thomas. Luna and Ginny would locate the Ravenclaws, Terry Boot, Anthony Goldstein, and Michael Corner, and Hermione and Neville would locate the Hufflepuffs, Susan Bones, Justin Finch-Fletchley and Ernie Macmillan.
It took more than an hour to locate all of the members. Harry and Ron had the easier luck; all of the remaining Gryffindor members were holed up in the common room and they were easily able to pull them aside and tell them about the meeting. The question as to how the Creeveys would take the rejection of half their number was answered in a rather embarrassingly pathetic way. Harry had just walked Colin into the corner of the Gryffindor common room and told him that the D.A. was being reformed.
“Really,” Colin had said quite loudly despite Harry’s absolute insistence on keeping his voice down. He had looked quite excited when he shouted over to his brother Dennis, who was sitting on the fire and said, “Hey Dennis, Harry’s going to-,”before Harry clamped his hand over Colin’s mouth. The damage, however, was done; Dennis Creevey was running up the two of them, and Ron, who had just recruited former D.A. member and his ex-girlfriend, Lavender Brown, as well as Lavender Brown herself.
“What’s going on?” Dennis asked a curious expression on his face.
Colin, who had removed Harry’s hand from his mouth, half-shouted, “Harry’s reforming the D.A., Dennis! We’re going to attend a meeting and-,”
“I’m sorry, Colin,” Harry said apologetically, while at the same time wondering why they hadn’t this much enthusiasm the night of the attack. “But we’re only allowing people back from my year and yours.”
Colin looked fairly shocked to say the least, but Dennis’s face just fell. No doubt, Harry thought, he had been expecting fairy tale battles against Death Eaters. In his mind’s eye, Dennis probably saw a few minutes of offensive and defensive spellwork on either side with the enemy always either destroyed or harried from the field. He probably also expected to gloat and tell war storied over butterbeer or pumpkin juice afterwards.
Harry understood that real combat was a lot bloodier, aggressive, time-consuming, and, unlike in stories, there was no guarantee of survival or victory. Harry knew what it was like to see his friends and comrades-in-arms hurt and nearly killed in combat. In his mind’s eye he saw Ron attacked by flying brains reminiscent of bad Muggle 1950’s science fiction in the Department of Mysteries. He saw Hermione hit by a plasma bolt from some Death Eater’s wand in the same battle. He saw Sirius, his godfather, fall through a mysterious veil, never to be seen again in this life. He saw Neville lying face down on the floor of the corridor in the Astronomy Tower, his hand grabbing his stomach. These all hurt like hell, but what hurt him worst of all were the scenes of his beloved Ginny balancing on her severely broken ankle at the Department of Mysteries, and locked in pitched battle with that monster Amycus during the raid on Hogwarts. All of this just served to reinforce his conviction that Dennis should not see combat.
“Why can’t he join?” Colin asked indignantly, trying to stand up for his brother.
“He’s too young to see battle, Colin,” Harry said sympathetically, trying to make his point. “Believe me, I know.” Colin, however, wasn’t convinced.
“You saw combat at his age!” Colin said indignantly.
“Actually, I was fifteen, but that was still too young,” Harry remarked. “Real combat, you have to understand, is bloody, vicious, and there is no guarantee of survival or victory.” In a deathly serious voice, he said, “I was too young, but we no longer have the luxury of allowing people as young as thirteen in.” When Dennis and Colin still looked angry and defiant, Harry had had enough. Angrily he said, “Damn it, Dennis this is not a tutoring group anymore!” He lowered his voice when he saw many Gryffindors turn to stare at them. “We are going to ware and it is likely many of us go to death in battle, and it wouldn’t be right to take someone as young as you into battle. Don’t you see? We’re not doing this to spite you; we’re doing this to defend you and everyone else.” With that, Dennis finally seemed to accept the fact he wasn’t getting in at thirteen, and turned around to walk back to the fireplace.
“Dennis,” Harry said encouragingly. “Wait awhile. If we’re still around, and you have the skills, you still have a chance.”
Dennis barely acknowledged this as he walked back to the fireplace under the intrigued stairs of the other Gryffindors.
“Don’t worry about him,” Colin told Harry. “He’ll be fine, and you’re right, this is for the best.” Then Ron walked up to them.
“Is everyone ready?” Harry asked.
“Yes,” Ron said. “They’ll meet at the abandoned classroom in about fifteen minutes.”
“Good,” Harry said, anxious to get away from this sad scene. “Let’s go” They then left to go to the classroom and wait for their friends to report in. Fifteen minutes later, the Gryffindor members arrived, along with the members from the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff as well as Hermione, Ginny, Neville, and Luna. Unsurprisingly the others had a far better time rounding up the others for the meeting. Luna and Ginny found Michael and Anthony out on the grounds still, and Luna went inside her common room to retrieve Terry and Susan. Hermione and Neville, however, found none of the Hufflepuff members on the grounds so they had to go up to the Hufflepuff common room, knock on the wooden brass door that served as their entrance, and wait for the Hufflepuff prefects to investigate. The prefects, who barely cracked the door open, demanded their full names, House affiliations, their dates of birth, and their business. Once they received this information, they closed the door, got Justin and Ernie and walked all four of them out of sight of the common room before walking away.
“All of that served,” Hermione said in the exasperated tone of voice she used to tell the tale, “to illustrate the paranoia inherent in all inter-House rivalries.” Harry didn’t completely agree with her analysis of the situation, but he empathized with her nonetheless.
Hermione pushed all of the tables aside and transfigured all of the school chairs into high-backed chairs with blue upholstery matching the proposed uniform color. She arranged them all in a half-circle design and transfigured the desk into a podium. She then immediately sat everyone else and gestured to Harry to take the podium before sitting herself down.
Projecting an outwardly cool and calm demeanor, Harry walked up to the podium and prepared to speak. In reality, he was terrified. How was he supposed to convince nineteen teenagers to put their lives, health, and even their sanities at risk to help win the war? He finally decided to strike a chord with them. He would appeal to every moral fiber they had.
Before he could begin, however, Ernie Macmillan had something to say. “Harry,” he said. “Why did you call us here?”
“I have a proposal to make,” Harry said. “I think it is necessary, in light of recent events, to reform the D.A.”
These words had an, interesting, effect on the people in the classroom, as a wave of confused mutterings swept the room.
Harry decided to speak before they started leaving. “Over the past year,” Harry said. “We have watched events in this war go from bad to worse. We have seen Dementors and Death Eaters attacking throughout Europe and the world. In a nutshell, they are a threat to the Wizarding and Muggle population of the entire world. Who among us can forget the devastating raid in the West Country that killed over 500 men, women, and children? This and many other incidents reveal a glaring problem with the Ministry, for whatever the reason it is ill-equipped to fight this war. If our Ministry is losing, I shudder to think about how the other Ministries, which are organized along the same lines as our own, are doing.” Harry was quite proud of himself, he was just thinking of what to say and how to say it as he went along, and he seemed to be holding his audience’s attention. Changing his tone, to one of deathly seriousness, he said, “I know what you’re thinking: ‘How can we win? How do we have the resources, and the time, to go all over the planet fighting this war?’ The answer is we can’t go all over the world; but we can make a difference here. The British Isles are the epicenter of this global war; Voldemort commands his forces from here. If there is any possibility of defeating him, we must beat him here, in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. It’s up to you, you can leave now, and no one will stop you or think any less of you. So I’m asking you, will you stand and fight? If you agree, please raise your hand?”
After a few moments, they each raised their hand, tentatively in the air, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, and Luna first of course, than the rest.
“Good,” Harry saw, relieved that he had pulled it off, “Any questions?”
Immediately after Harry’s question, people started asking questions at once, at speed, and so fast neither Harry nor anyone else could get a word in edgewise. This situation persisted for ten minutes for ten minutes until an angry Ginny stood on top of a table, and shouted, “Quiet! Now if you have a question, please, please ask one at a time or so help me I will-.”
At this point, Harry decided to interrupt before Ginny started cursing, “Okay Ginny,” Harry said calmly. “Calm down and let’s move on.” After calming down, Ginny got off the table ad sat down.
“Wait!” Hermione said before anyone could start talking again. “I forgot a few things, no one ask any questions about the D.A. until I get back and you see the stuff I’ll be bringing.” With that, Hermione bounded out of her seat and left the very confused occupants of the classroom behind. Three minutes later, Hermione returned with three wooden crates. She opened them and handed out to everyone one of her mirrors,(excepting Harry, Ron, Ginny, Neville, and Luna of course), some sort of application form, and a red leather-bound book with the gilded words Basic Dumbledore’s Army Regulations on the cover. This must be why Hermione took so long with her mirrors, Harry thought.
“Now,” Hermione said. “Read these and sign the forms before asking any questions.” They all looked at the forms suspiciously; obviously thinking Hermione charmed them with some sort of charm to compel them to fight.
Picking up on this, Hermione said, “Don’t worry, I didn’t charm them at all, they’re just ordinary paper. To prove it to you I’ll sign one myself.” She then passed out inks and quills and sat down to sign. Harry looked down at his sheet; aside from the usual requests for biographical data, (i.e. full name, address and date of birth), it contained an oath:
“I (name) being of sound mind and body, hereby swear to protect and defend all human from any and all threats from the Wizarding world that, trough its actions, threatens to subjugate and enslave this world I commit to this obligation entirely of my own free will and that I will, to the best of my ability, carry out the duties of the organization that I am about to enter.”
After a long moment, Harry sighed heavily and filled out the form. One by one, they all signed the document, first Ron, then Ginny, then Neville and Luna. A few moments, the other students, though they still looked unsure as to what they were doing, signed as well.
The booklet turned out to be nothing more than a condensed version of the results of the earlier meeting combined with basic elements of organizational protocol to create a vaguely effective organizational framework. Upon reading it, many people found some questioned answered. This led to more questions, unfortunately.
It was then that Justin Finch –Fletchley spoke. “I have a question Herm-,” then, remembering protocol he said, “Sir,” which he said with a confused look on his face, “most organizations have a chain of command running through the bottom ranks. How come your chain of command only includes six people?” There was a wave of noise as people muttered in agreement.
In a calm, collected manner, Hermione walked up to the podium and said and saw, “Well, we weren’t even sure we were going to have an organization until just now, so we didn’t feel right creating a chain of command beyond the senior leadership.” In a loud voice she said, “Bear in mind, people!” Hermione said a moment later, “These people and myself are at the top!” She swept her hand to take in Harry, Ron, Ginny, Neville, and Luna. “If you really want to be a part of this, you will follow our orders.”
“I have a question-,” Lavender Brown began angrily, clearly still enraged over Hermione’s supposed theft of Ron.
“I have a question, sir,” Hermione corrected.
“I have a question, sir,” Lavender said, still angry. Then her voice lightened considerably. “Will Parvati and Padma Patil be allowed to rejoin?” Clearly she was excited about her best friend and her sister rejoining them. She wasn’t the only one excited, as Harry heard two people shift in their seats. Turning around, he saw Justin Finch-Fletchley and Michael Corner sitting up, with bright excited looks in their eyes. Harry realized it was the same look Harry had whenever anyone had mentioned Ginny before he was finally with her, and before he had to let her go. I’m not surprised by Justin’s reaction, Harry thought. He and Parvati had been dating since their fourth year. As a matter of fact, the scuttlebutt was that Justin and Parvati were engaged to be married when they left Hogwarts. Michael’s reaction was a surprise. Last he heard, Michael and Cho were dating. Then again, Harry thought. I had lost track of things when was going out with Ginny, so maybe things have changed.
“I will send letters to Parvati and Padma Patil, Zacharias Smith, and Hannah Abbot, explaining what we’ve done and offering them a chance to rejoin,” Hermione said.
Then Michael Corner spoke up. “Sir,” he said curiously, “Are we getting paid?”
Hermione’s mouth dropped open and her eyes widened in surprise. Harry couldn’t blame her. When they had signed the document, he had assumed they would be fighting, as he and his friends were, for freedom and ideals, not money. So his first instinct was to face Ginny’s ex-boyfriend and blurt “No!” But that might send them running from the room, thought Harry. Before he could come up with a response however, Hermione walked over and said, “Sir, can we talk about this in the corridor?”
That did it. Right than and there Harry decided he didn’t want to be called “sir” by his friends. He wasn’t sure how long he could tolerate the rest of the D.A. calling him “sir.” Harry then stood up and motioned for Ron, Ginny, Neville, and Luna to follow them into the corridor.
“All right,” Harry said as soon as they walked into the corridor and closed the door. “I don’t want to be called ‘sir’ all the time, especially by the five of you. You only have to say ‘sir’ when responding to an order, all right?” Everyone around him breathed a sigh of relief. Apparently, they didn’t feel comfortable being so formal, at least with each other. Even Luna looked faintly relieved.
“Harry,” Hermione said, bringing him back to the task at hand. “They want to be paid.”
“How about 170 Galleons per week?” Ginny suggested. “For all of us,” she said pointedly to remind Harry she wanted money too.
“All right,” Harry said reluctantly, wondering if he’d have any of his inheritance money left by the end of the war. They went back into the room and announced there decision on the pay grade. The mood in the room brightened considerably at that information.
Hermione then spoke low enough that only her friends could hear. “After we get off the train tomorrow, we need to buy as much of Fred and George’s supplies as possible. We also need to buy tents and medical supplies; believe me we’re going to need them.”
“Why?” Neville asked in the same low whisper. “If we’re guarding a wedding we’ll only be there one, maybe two, days.”
“If only that were so,” Hermione said sadly. “You see, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley thought it would be a great idea if the extended Weasley and Delacour families spent the weeks leading up to the wedding in a ‘get to know each other’ gathering at the Burrow.” This surprised Harry and the others but it was Ginny who responded first.
“Okay,” Ginny said, faintly confused. “Why?”
“Well,” Hermione responded matter-of-factly, “Mr. and Mrs. Weasley thought, and the Delacours agree, that a long reunion-type event might, what were the words Mrs. Weasley used? ‘Increase our bonds of friendship’”
“Okay,” Ron said confused. “But can’t the wedding do that?”
“Your mother said she wanted to create bonds that transcend the wedding,” Hermione said matter-of-factly
“But we can have annual, normal, family reunions,” Ginny said, sounding annoyed. “We don’t have to have a three-week extravaganza that in all probability will leave us all sick of each other by the end of it.”
“I agree,” Hermione said. “And I tried to persuade her, but their decision stands.”
“All right,” Ginny said, sounding worried.
Harry looked around at his friends and noticed that by the looks on their faces that they understood the mission. And, Harry realized, if he remembered correctly, the wedding was on the 21st of June. Which meant he could lead the D.A. as they guarded the gathering and the wedding, then send he could send the D.A. members home to their families until August so he could go home as he had promised Dumbledore before his death. With that in mind he turned to address his new organization and said, “Now go back to your dormitories and get some sleep for tomorrow we’ll be getting our supplies and, hopefully, preparing for our first mission, dismissed.” And with that, the DA members left for their respective common rooms, and for many, dreams of terrifying battle.
A/N:This quote I found in the Army Officers Guide, 47th Edition by Lieutenant Colonel Lawrence P. Crocker USA (ret)
A/N: Cultural tidbit: If Rowling had followed Chinese tradition, Cho's name would be pronounced Chang Cho. The family name first, than the personal name. Rowling changed it to the Western standard of naming.
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