Disclaimer: Not mine. If it were, Harmony shippers would be celebrating.
A/N: My response to the "Hermione's sister" challenge by Strawberry Nerd. You can find it here: http://talk.portkey.org/index.php?showtopic=26786 . I hope you'll like the story, it will start from HBP, during sixth year, but hopefully this new character will help change things, uh? ;)
Thanks to my beta Gingercat!
A Sister's Influence
Chapter Five: Planning the Training
Just as Harry and Hermione had hoped, Ron forgot all about their absence at breakfast, moaning because of the heavy work load Professor McGonagall had assigned them, as they made their way to Charms.
The day progressed uneventfully, if not for Ginny scowling at Harry at lunch, still pissed for having been brushed off earlier that morning. Harry didn't care much, to tell the truth. As Ophelia had pointed out, his main focus right now shouldn't be a girlfriend, but to prepare for the war.
Plus, he wanted to show Hermione just how good a friend she was to him, and to do that he had decided to pay her more attention. Which of course didn't go unnoticed by his girlfriend, with the result that when lunch ended, she was even madder at him, and stormed off without saying a single word to him.
"Mate, you're in for an hell of a shouting later, you know that, right?" Ron joked as they walked to the Charms classroom, trying not to pay attention to Lavender who was holding his hand. The redhead was growing slightly aggravated with the blonde. She was starting to be a bit too clingy.
--
That afternoon, while they had Potions, Hermione took the chance of being there without Ron to overhear them to tell Harry they should meet in the library after dinner to start planning for the new DA and their private training with Dumbledore. Of course, they still needed to ask the headmaster if that could be done.
Slughorn's arrival put a stop to their chat, and they focused on their work. Harry put the Prince's book in the middle, as a peace offering to Hermione, and she smiled warmly at him. She read the instructions for their potion and scrunched her nose when she noticed some changes made by the Prince.
"You know what, Harry. You follow his directions, I'll follow the ones from Slughorn. I'm curious to see the difference in the results" she whispered to him, and the raven haired boy nodded. They started to brew the assigned concoction, a mixture to cure appendicitis, their hands now and then brushing as they reached for the same ingredient.
The first time this happened, both looked up startled, a strange fluttering in their chests. After a moment of awkward silence, Harry had motioned for Hermione to go ahead and pick the dragon scales she needed. She did, a hint of a blush remaining on her cheeks for some minutes.
--
That night, Ginny was really hoping to talk with Harry about what had happened between them that day. She had a bad feeling that it might be the start of something serious that would tear them apart.
However, when she entered the common room coming from her dorm, Ron was playing chess against Seamus, and there was no sign of Harry.
"Ron, where's Harry?" she asked.
"Gone to the library to start an essay for McGonagall" her brother replied without even looking at her. Ginny growled in frustration, and plopped down on the couch, scowling.
--
In the library, Harry and Hermione were sitting at her usual table, in the back, where she was sure they wouldn't be distracted.
"So, Harry. Will we call back all the old members of the DA?" she asked.
"I don't see why not. Anyone should have the chance to get ready to defend themselves" Harry shrugged. Hermione sighed.
"That's true. But last time, we got discovered because a member spied on us, and while this year there's no Umbitch to be wary of, and I'm sure all the staff would approve of our activities…well, you know the Muggle saying, "better safe than sorry", don't you?" she suggested, biting her lip.
Harry grinned. She was so cute when she did that.
"What are you so happy about?" she inquired. He shook his head. "Nothing serious" he said, focusing again on their task. "Back on topic, yes, Hermione, I know. But as you said, this year the staff will be on our side, and I even think we should make it an official club, so that we might even get new members. We should ask Dumbledore about that"
Hermione thought about it for a minute. "Makes sense" she admitted in the end. Then she produced a list of the members of the DA from their previous year. "We should inform them once we have a definite date to start training, and a place"
"The Room of Requirements worked fine last year" Harry commented. "I think we should stick to it"
"Well, that's a start, or maybe if Professor Dumbledore allows us to make it official, we could use the Great Hall. Although, it doesn't adjust to our needs so it would be harder to prepare it for the training sessions…"
"Mmh, that's an idea too, but let's keep our options open for the moment" he suggested. "Now, about the spells we want to teach them…"
--
It took the pair two hours to define a basic outline of what they would be teaching the DA, and by that time, they were both knackered. However, they needed to do one last thing before going to bed.
Sneaking through the corridors under Harry's cloak, they were after all out after curfew, they reached the gargoyle at the base of the stairs up to the headmaster's office. Harry knew the password because of his lessons with Dumbledore, so it was no trouble for them to reach the office. Knocking on the door, they waited for the old wizard to open.
When he did, his twinkling blue eyes greeted them.
"Mr. Potter, Miss Granger. What brings you here at this hour?"
"We have a couple of questions to ask you, Professor" Harry said. "They can't wait, I fear"
"Very well then, come in" the old man invited them inside. Once the three of them were settled in chairs in front of the headmaster's desk, Harry and Hermione told him about their plans to restart the DA, and asked him if he could provide them with lessons in advanced duelling.
"I assume Mr. Weasley would have to be included in those lessons too?" Dumbledore asked with a smile.
"Well, if that was possible, yes. Although, we still haven't told him about our plans for this training" Hermione said.
"I see. I shall inform you two about a possible adjustment of your schedules to fit these special lessons. I have to say that I am proud of the two of you for taking the upcoming war so seriously, although I do always recommend to not let the dark times ahead rule your lives. It would not do to forget to live" he advised them, before letting them walk back to their dorms to finally get some sleep.
As they made their way to Gryffindor Tower, Harry was very aware of their closeness under the cloak. The fluttering in his stomach returned, and he wondered what that was. It seemed a different version of the monster in his chest, the one that had driven him to date Ginny. Gentler, and yet less fleeting.
However, he had no time to dwell further on that, as they were in front of the portrait hole. Hermione quickly gave the Fat Lady the password so they could slide in. Harry lifted the cloak off of them.
"Well, I guess we should get some sleep now" Hermione reasoned, sounding almost sad for that. Harry could relate. After all those months they were at odds with each other, it felt good to go back to their natural closeness, and he didn't want the day to end yet either. But a long yawn told him his body really needed the rest.
"I'll see you tomorrow then, Hermione" he said, smiling tiredly at her. "Good night" he added, surprising them both when he kissed her cheek.
She stammered a good night too, before they went separate ways up to their dorms.
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