"Avada Kedavra."
A body crumpled to the ground amongst a growing pile of other lifeless forms. Voldemort paced back and forth in front of a group of kneeling Death Eaters.
"I suppose I should expect that everyone would fail. The difficulty of detaining two teenagers is rather low. There is a risk, but why not send those that have yet to prove their worth?" Voldemort hissed as he balanced his wand between his fingers.
"Yet, here I am. Two dead, two more captured, and one almost burned alive."
A bright, green light filled the room as yet another body crumpled to death. There were only four more kneeling Death Eaters in the room. Voldemort continued to pace in front of them, eyeing each one thoughtfully as if he had been given a choice of delectable meals.
"Tell me, Rookwood. Why was Bates almost burned alive?" Voldemort questioned one of the kneeling Death Eaters.
"We underestimated the Potter boy. Bates says the boy was not there when they arrived at Godric's Hollow. During the…interrogation of the Malfoy boy and the whore, the Potter boy caught them off guard. We tried to catch him as soon as we noticed a disturbance, but he escaped," Rookwood fearfully explained.
"I see. This useless whelp of a Potter boy manages to kill two Death Eaters, burn the third one alive, and escape from three more Death Eaters," Voldemort levitated a body from his feet.
"Make no mistake; the boy is probably as useless as his father. I arrived at Godric's Hollow the first time with his father already dead and his mother gone, but perhaps it's the Potter boy I should be recruiting?" Voldemort rhetorically asked.
"Be gone, Rookwood. Fortunately for you, there is work to be done."
Rookwood kissed the hem of Voldemort's robes before hurriedly standing and leaving the chamber. Now, only three men kneeled in front of the Dark Lord. Voldemort circled around them, swishing his wand about in a baton like manner.
"Avada Kedavra," he hissed again, raising his body count even higher.
He inhaled sharply, waving his hand in front of his face as if he were wafting a delicious smell to his nostrils, "That's how you kill a man. You can feel their tether to life leaving this plane."
"Selwyn, it was your nephew that accompanied Bates to Godric's Hollow. Since he is dead, you must bear the brunt of his punishment. Tell me, did you not teach him how to kill a man?"
"Daniel killed three men in cold blood before he was assigned to the raid, my Lord. He knew how to kill a man."
"Perhaps, you are correct. Evidently, he knew nothing of securing a ward around the house though. That speaks of incompetence. Were you not able to teach him properly?"
"I taught him plenty of -"
"Avada Kedavra."
Voldemort levitated the bodies so they surrounded the last Death Eater, "What do you think, Lucius? Did I serve the appropriate punishment?"
"Yes, my Lord," said the kneeling man.
"What do you think your punishment should be?" whispered Voldemort.
"What ever you deem, my Lord," Malfoy murmured.
"Always the perfect politician."
Voldemort dropped the bodies around Lucius with a sickening thud. He enchanted the dead Selwyn so the body would hop around him like a puppet on strings. Selwy's arms flailed about Lucius, taunting the man. Malfoy kept his ground, not daring to raise his head or give any indication he was disgusted by the soon to be rotting corpse.
"It's a shame you're so undeniably useful, Lucius. I would very much enjoy killing you," Voldemort sighed or at least made a noise that could be construed as a sigh.
"Peter. Bring it to me," Voldemort held one long claw out as poor Peter placed a small object into the claw.
"Do you know what this is Lucius?" Voldemort asked as he looked at the object with one eye.
"No, my Lord. I don't."
"I believe it's Egyptian in origin. It's a miniature hourglass," Voldemort started whispering to himself as he cast a spell on the tiny object.
"What makes this object so fascinating is that it's parasitic in a way. It needs to attach to a host and you have been selected to be the host."
"What does it do, my Lord," whispered Lucius.
To answer Lucius, Voldemort immediately seared the hourglass into the senior Death Eater's chest over where his heart would be. Lucius grunted in agony, not daring to scream or yell lest the Dark Lord increase the pain tenfold. As Voldemort completed the ritual, he ripped open Malfoy's robes to inspect his handiwork.
"You have five fortnights to complete the task that has been beset upon you," Voldemort explained as he admired his work of art.
"What is the task, my Lord," Lucius continued to wince the pain as he felt the insidious object worm its way into his heart.
"To kill your son of course. Since you failed so miserably to rid yourself of that whore of a wife, it's only logical that you must kill your son to recompense for your mistake. Your wife was a whore, Lucius; Rookwood found her dead with her legs spread open for Bates. Does that make you feel anything?"
"No, my Lord."
"Good," Voldemort paused, "Bella has informed that the team was unable to make progress on the tower. However, she was able to deduce that we would need an object from Hogwarts in order to raise it."
Voldemort paused as he assessed the oldest Malfoy, "The necessary preparations have been made to invade and extract the object out of Hogwarts. The old fool will think that Hogwarts is my end game and send the necessary forces needed to stop me at Hogwarts in order to take it back. I trust you can kill your son in this allotted time frame?"
"Yes, my Lord."
"Excellent. Now leave. Preparations must be made."
*****
"Christmas! Christmas! Christmas! Get up!" Ginny tore through Grimmauld Place, opening each door and bouncing on the respective owner's bed for an allotted time before moving onto the next victim.
Harry rubbed his eyes as he stumbled into the drawing room, giving Ron a high five along the way for his ability to somehow walk in a straight line. Harry saw that Hermione, Ginny, and most of the other adults were already seated around a makeshift tree.
"Merry Christmas dear," Lily leaned forward to give her son a peck on the cheek.
"Merry Christmas Mum," Harry yawned as he jammed a poorly wrapped gift into her hand.
"Please don't let it be another book," she facetiously whispered into the air.
Harry glared at her as she opened a package containing a set of green earrings. Lily smiled and shook her head at her only son. Harry shrugged in response, "Don't worry, I stole your money to buy it."
Lily slapped Harry's shoulder with a laugh as she stowed away the gift with her other ones. She searched among a brightly colored pile of well wrapped gifts before finding the one she had bought for her son. She excitedly handed it to her son.
"Oh Mum, you shouldn't have," Harry dryly said as he weighed the object in his hands.
"Oh yes."
"I love it," Harry jokingly patronized the gift but enjoyed it nonetheless. His mother always bought him next year's Potion's textbook each Christmas.
"You know it's my -"
"- favorite subject. I think I've gotten the point by now," Harry winked.
The others exchanged gifts happily. Harry could spot Ron giving Hermione a bottle of perfume while Neville had bought her some book of sorts. Harry made his way to Ginny and handed her an unwrapped object.
"A mirror? Really, I'm going to war and you're giving me a mirror?"
"Dazzle your enemies."
"Really?"
"No."
"Then why a mirror?"
"You never know where you might find a good looking bloke that - OW - don't hit me!"
"You deserved it."
"Okay, fine, it's not just a mirror," Harry produced a similar mirror he had been holding behind him, "Ta da!"
"Great, we have matching mirrors," Ginny replied dryly.
"No, idiot. Look at it," Harry raised his own mirror to his face.
"Oh. My. Merlin," Ginny gasped as she stared at Harry through her own mirror, "Where'd you find this?"
"Well my Dad gave me this one when I was younger and then I saw the other matching pair here. I don't know what it was doing here, but once I figured out it was the matching pair, I knew it had to be for you," Harry explained.
"That way, when you're off doing Fudge's dirty work - if you can find a way to get away for a little, come call us," Harry smiled at her.
"You silly boy," Ginny rushed to him to give a hug.
Pulling back, she looked at him fiercely, "If you don't have Hermione by the time I come back, I will kill you."
"Don't worry, I have a showstopper for her gift as well," Harry winked.
"Harry - all grown up," she said in somber fakeness.
Even though he had talked up Hermione's gift in front of Ginny, it was a different task all together to lasso Hermione away from Neville and Ron. Eventually, Ron had predictably walked away for some cookies while Neville was busy talking to Professor Lupin. Hermione was sitting by herself, smiling and reading a letter from her parents.
"Hermione," Harry cleared his throat.
"Harry!" she stood and gave him a bone-crushing hug, "I can't believe I haven't seen you yet. I have your present!"
She rushed around to a carefully organized pile. Extracting a small package, she bounced around the couch and thrust it into Harry's hands. Harry grinned and opened the package to find a wrist holster with a thin strand of what looked to be string attached to it.
"Watch. Wrap the string around your wand," Hermione said as Harry looked at it with confusion.
Harry did as instructed and watched as Hermione pulled out her own wand and quickly performed a Disarming charm on him. Harry's wand sailed out of his wand but stopped in mid-air as the string held strong.
"Unicorn hair," she looked impressed even by her own gift, "Thought it'd be useful for you. You've gotten quite good at dueling."
Harry's jaw was still open as he inspected the powerful item, "Wow. Thanks, Hermione!"
"No problem," she looked happy that Harry liked his gift.
"My turn," Harry gave her a neatly packaged, rectangular object. Hermione eagerly but carefully unwrapped the gift. Her face froze as she traced the outline of the picture.
"The frame's my Mum's, but I think you know where the picture is from," Harry explained.
The gift was a Muggle picture that Harry, Hermione, Neville, Ginny, and Ron had taken while they were on their impromptu vacation. They stood in linked arms in front of the faux magical castle, their smiles bright upon their faces.
"Durate et vosmet rebus servate secundis," she repeated as she traced the words etched in the silver frame.
"Carry on and preserve yourselves for better times," Harry translated, "It's Latin. It's a promise we'll go back someday when this is all over."
Hermione still looked shocked at the picture before thrusting her hand out.
"I want my gift back."
"Err, what?"
"My gift's not good enough, give it back."
"No," Harry said in an amused tone, "Your gift is far more useful."
"But yours is better," Hermione whined.
"Hermione, I'm not giving it back."
"Fine," Hermione huffed.
"Thank you," she said as she clutched the picture to her chest.
"You're welcome," Harry beamed.
Hermione rushed off to carefully place her gift inside a specially charmed, unbreakable bag. Harry headed over to Ron and Neville to produce matching Canon jerseys, much to Ron's excitement and Neville's amusement. Once the festivities winded down, the group moved into the kitchen to enjoy some food that Mrs. Weasley cooked up. As the chattering group marched their way down the staircase, Harry caught up with his mother and linked arms with her.
"Dad coming?" Harry asked.
"I don't think so," Lily looked at him painfully, "I hope you understand Harry, but they needed people to be a lookout. We're pretty unguarded at this time."
Harry nodded his head, expecting this news, "It's alright, I was just wondering. It's probably for the better."
"Why do you say that?" Lily frowned.
"Well - you know - him and Sirius," Harry dropped his voice, hoping the latter person was not lurking around a corner.
"Their relationship is complicated," Lily sighed, "But yes, perhaps it is for the better."
The day passed jovially, most of the regular group relaxing around a warm fire, eggnog and delightfully singing cookies abound. Harry was pleased to see Ron wear his Canons jersey for the whole night as well as fending off Hermione's repeated gestures of gratitude for his gift. As he sat on the ground in front of the couch where Ginny and Hermione excitedly chit chatted, Harry noticed a lone figure walk into the drawing room and take a seat by the window. Harry did not recall Malfoy during the gift exchange and suddenly remembered something.
"Be right back, guys," Harry informed them as he hastily stood up and jogged to his room.
Harry returned to the room with something clutched in his left hand. Hermione looked at him questioningly from her spot on the couch to which Harry could only shrug in reply. Hesitantly making his way to Malfoy, Harry coughed loudly to inform the boy of his presence. Malfoy did not turn for a second but eventually shifted his head so Harry could make out the side profile of his face against the moonlight.
"I didn't see you earlier but here," Harry thrust two wands in Malfoy's direction.
"It's your wand and your…Mum's. I would have given them to you earlier, but I forgot about them after - well - you know…" Harry trailed off awkwardly.
Malfoy turned fully around in his chair and narrowed his eyes at the two wands in Harry's hand. He carefully plucked the pair of wands and dangled what Harry thought was his mother's wand in his hands. After a moment, Malfoy placed both wands in his lap and nodded his head so slightly that Harry could have sworn that Malfoy did not do it. Malfoy then turned around and continued to look at the moon.
Well that's that.
Harry returned to the rest of the group and sat down heavily at Hermione's feet. The group had obviously watched the exchange and Harry could see the differing reactions on their faces.
"That was real nice of you," Hermione softly complimented him.
Harry could see Ron biting his lip to hold back a response, "Thanks, Hermione. I just didn't want his wand anymore."
Hermione smiled softly, though Harry could not see it, at Harry's deflection. Neville looked at him thoughtfully before turning his face to the fire once more.
"Still seems suspicious to me," Ron could not help himself. His only saving grace was that he said it quietly enough so that Malfoy should not have heard him.
"Ron…" Hermione warned.
"How about we don't fight?" Ginny interrupted them, "I only have one more week here before I have to leave. I'd rather do it on a happy note."
"Ginny's right," Neville proclaimed, much to Ginny's blushing, "Let's not waste our time bickering."
Ron and Hermione glared at each other but said nothing. Hermione turned to Ginny to animatedly talk to her about an uncharacteristically female topic while Harry steered the conversation to Quidditch as he conversed with Ron and Neville. The group talked well into the night, laughing and reminiscing at various Hogwarts memories. Malfoy remained silent, studiously sitting in the corner.
***
The rest of the break raced quickly by Harry and soon enough, it was time to head back to Hogwarts. At least, for him to head back to Hogwarts. There was a tearful goodbye as Ginny departed with some obviously overworked Ministry types. Tears were shed in gallons as the large crowd of Weasleys and assorted friends said goodbye to the youngest chick in the nest. Harry repeatedly reminded her to use the mirror whenever she could. Eventually, Ginny Weasley left to fight a war she was too young for and for a Minister that wanted nothing more than to keep his job.
Eventually, Harry returned to Hogwarts, already missing his friend and hoping for contact soon. Though he had grown closer to the Trio, especially Hermione, he knew he would never be able to cut into the tight bond that tethered the three teenagers. Without the company of Ginny, Harry was forced to play the outside wheel to the teenagers. Though Malfoy's problems were much bigger than his, Harry understood why the boy kept to himself most of the times now. An irritable Harry entered the first defense class of the new year and sourly sat next to Seamus and Dean.
"Look a little sour, Harry. What's wrong? Girl troubles?" Seamus teased.
"What did ever happen with Cho?" Dean probed.
"Nothing," Harry replied gruffly. He had been steadfastly avoiding the two-timing bint since he arrived.
"It's a shame. Quite a catch she would have been," Seamus whistled forlornly.
"Well, I'm glad to have my hands rid off her," Harry waved to a disgruntled looking Hermione.
"Don't look now, Harry, but I don't think she's gone just yet," Dean pointed out two people near the doorway to the classroom.
Indeed, Cho Chang seemed to be having an amicable conversation with Neville, obviously keeping the boy from entering the classroom. Neville chuckled at something she said before indicating that he needed to enter the class. Cho nodded and roved her eyes across the classroom. Harry quickly turned his head so he did not meet her eye. Scribbling nonsense into his notes, Harry took a quick peek and saw that the older girl had left.
"Welcome back, class!" Professor Sheppard exclaimed as he waltzed into the room.
"Hullo, Professor," the class tiredly replied though it was almost noon.
"Aren't you all the sunny lot? That's no way to enter the second half of the curriculum. Now, all of you might be wondering what "Advanced Defense" meant on your curriculum when you started the term. Well, I'm here to tell you that your last grade in this class will be based solely on one project that will occupy the rest of the year," Sheppard hopped onto his desk and examined his students. The students murmured at Sheppard's surprise.
The rest of the year? What could we possibly be doing?
Before Harry could linger longer on his thoughts, Sheppard erased the chalkboard with his wand and replaced it with a metallic looking map of Hogwarts. The castle was divided into different beige colored sectors with each sector containing a differing amount of points.
"This is a map of Hogwarts sans house common rooms. Your project for the rest of the year is to form an army of peers and conquer these areas. The army with the most number of points at the end of the project, wins this game so to speak. But you will not be graded on whether or not you win or lose," Sheppard pointed out.
"You will be graded on your ability in combat and your ability to help each other. War is not some two-on-two skirmish. It's a constant grind of focus and strategy. One small slip up will allow your opponent to strike at you. One lapse of concentration could spell the end of your army."
The students were now buzzing excitedly as they leaned over the desks to examine the map of Hogwarts. Harry was nearly tipping the edge of his seat to examine the map and saw many other students were doing so as well. The only student who remained in a sedentary position was Malfoy.
"The catch? I will not be assigning armies. Another aspect of War is a person's ability to lead and command his or her troops," Sheppard paced the classroom as he assessed each student, "It is up to you to become a leader. I will not assign an army an allotted amount of students and I will not have a limit on the number of armies."
Harry frowned at this unnatural gesture. Was Professor Sheppard intentionally rigging this game? Harry could already formulate some groups that would not stand a chance, most notably the Slytherins. Sheppard only smiled at the students as they took in the information.
"You will have up until tomorrow at noon to finalize your armies. Why don't we begin now?" Sheppard came to a stop in the exact middle of the students in the classroom, "Any volunteers to lead one army?"
The classroom erupted in whispers as they pointed out likely leaders. Many eyes were expectantly turned towards Neville Longbottom. After all, he was the Boy-Who-Lived. Who better to lead an army than the one person who defeated the antagonist of the real War?
"I'll do it," Neville said softly as the buzz around him grew.
"Unsurprising choice," Sheppard nodded as he waved his wand at the board. Neville's name immediately appeared on the side of the metallic board in a deep red.
"Anyone else?" Sheppard called out.
The rest of the fifth-year students shifted uncomfortably as they looked around for another choice. Ernie Macmillan of Hufflepuff once or twice tried to raise his hand but thought better of it and lowered his appendage. The Slytherins looked nervously around each other, all of them clearly avoiding looking at Malfoy. It seemed as if the Slytherin boy fell out of favor with the rest of the group. The leaderless Slytherins kept trying to convince one another to stand up but none of them could do so.
"I'll do it," Dean and Seamus looked at Harry as if he had suddenly sprouted wings and become a Hippogriff.
"Mr. Potter," Sheppard sounded surprise but pleased, "How nice of you to join in."
Sheppard waved his wand and Harry watched his name etch itself onto the metal board in a royal blue. Harry gulped, not quite knowing what he had exactly gotten himself into. He was simply angry at the rest of the students indecision in stepping up to the challenge. Harry knew that part of the reason was the fact that Neville was in charge of the other army. Who would want to go up against the Boy-Who-Lived? But Harry knew that the boy was not invincible.
Harry turned slightly and caught Neville's astonished face. Ron looked positively dumbfounded and slightly angry while the rest of the class looked at Harry with a combination of surprise and nervousness. Harry shifted uncomfortably in his seat, pulling his collar as the room suddenly became unbearably stiff. Had it always been this hot in Defense?
"Anyone else?" Sheppard called out, clearly not expecting anyone to step up. Unsurprisingly, no one stepped forward to lead another army.
"It's settled then," Sheppard clapped his wands and a series of sparks flashed around Harry and Neville's names, "I will explain the rules of engagement Wednesday. For now, know that any participation in this game is to only be had during this Defense class. I have approved this with Professor Dumbledore, but if I find any of you jinxing each other out of class, I will expel you without another thought. Is that clear?"
The class nodded in response.
"Now, we have a little time left. Potter. Longbottom. Step up here; the armies would like to see their generals," Harry and Neville walked to the front of the class and turned to face their peers.
"It's time to recruit! Students, form your armies," Sheppard stepped back to take a seat and watch the proceedings unfold.
Harry and Neville nervously looked at the Professor before staring at each other. Neville shrugged and turned to face the students. Barely a second had passed before Ron immediately stood and walked to Neville's side, making sure to give Harry a withering glance as he did so. Ernie Macmillan stood and made his way to Neville's side as well. Justin Finch-Fletchley and Hannah Abbot soon followed their close friend. Susan Bones hesitantly stood before awkwardly shifting her way to Neville's side. Six more Hufflepuffs that Harry did not know the names of joined Neville's army, much to Harry's sinking displeasure.
There goes all the Hufflepuffs. Typical.
Harry shifted from foot to foot, well aware that no one had stepped up to his side. His eyes caught Hermione's eyes, but he refused to plead for her help. She was staring at him in confusion, no doubt puzzled by Harry's sudden leap for power. As far as she had known, Harry was never one to step into the limelight. She hesitantly stood and made her way to Neville, her eyes trained on Harry the whole time. Harry kept his eyes straight ahead, refusing to meet her gaze. Lavender and Parvati immediately followed Hermione, clearly trusting their dorm mate.
Neville currently had fifteen people in his army while Harry had one: himself.
Harry was beginning to think that volunteering to lead an army was an awful idea. He considered creating a spell that could tunnel through the ground and lead him to China but was interrupted by a sharp gasp reverberating throughout the classroom. Harry looked up to see Draco Malfoy walking straight towards him. Harry blinked, not quite believing the turn of events, as Malfoy stood slightly behind him and gazed out of the classroom into the blue sky over Hogwarts. The rest of the students broke their heated silence as they suddenly whispered to each other, pointing at Harry and Malfoy the whole time. Even Sheppard's eyebrows were raised as he watched the unlikely ally stand stoically at Harry's side.
Great. This is definitely NOT going to help recruiting.
Harry wanted to yell at Malfoy to leave but could not do so in front of the class. Harry had learned his first lesson in being a leader; never decline help, even if it came from the most unlikely of sources. As Harry gritted his teeth, he was surprised to find Seamus and Dean disengage from their heated conversation and walk up towards him. They both nodded at him as they joined his side.
At last, Harry was grateful that someone had joined his army. Padma Patil, Parvati's twin, stood and made her way to Harry's side as well. In the end, two Ravenclaws joined Neville's army while no more students joined Harry's. There was still a number of undecided students, mostly Slytherins, by the time the bell for class ended.
"I will go over the rest of the procedures on Wednesday! Friday will be your first engagement!" Sheppard yelled over the voices of the students.
Neville awkwardly swam through the crowd to stand in front of Harry and offer his hand, "Good luck, Harry."
"Thanks," Harry said dazedly as he shook Neville's hand. Neville nodded stiffly before exiting the room.
"Why'd you have to do this Harry?" Ron whispered angrily as he passed by his roommate, "We could have just combined armies and crushed whoever formed the other one."
Harry did not respond but simply gazed back at Ron. Ron shook his head in frustration before taking his leave as well. Hermione looked at him queerly as she gathered her belongings. She continued to observe him as if he were some strange specimen as she made her way out of the classroom and out of sight.
Sighing, Harry turned to his four person army and cracked a half-grin, "Welcome to Potter's army."
***
Harry ran his hands through his hair as he examined the names of all the fifth-year students in front of him.
"…Longbottom always does everything. It'd be fun to take him and Ron down a peg for once," Dean explained to Padma.
"I know what you mean! I love Parvati, but I'll be damned if I pass up the opportunity to one up her," the Ravenclaw girl grinned.
"Any progress Harry?" Seamus asked as he tossed a toy Quaffle in the air.
The four of them were in the library, hidden from view of the rest of the students. The fifth member of their army declined to join them in their brainstorming session. Malfoy had stared at Harry when the Gryffindor asked him whether or not he was coming to the library. After Harry asked his question, the boy had simply walked away without any response. Harry took this gesture as a no.
"No," Harry gnawed at his quill, "All the Slytherins are still left. I heard Terry Boot went and joined Neville, which means Anthony Goldstein will probably follow suit."
"Don't forget Mandy," Parvati interrupted, "She's practically in love with Terry."
"Great," Harry crossed off another name on the list, "That brings the count to Neville - twenty. Us - five."
"Sorry, I'm late," Michael Corner suddenly appeared, "Padma told me that you'd meeting here?"
"Yeah, thanks," Harry gratefully pulled out a seat for the boy. Harry turned to look at him fully, suddenly remembering that Michael and Ginny had seen each other a few times before she left.
"I assume you're joining us then?" Dean asked.
"Yeah," Corner nodded enthusiastically, "Ginny always said Harry was better at Defense than we all thought."
Harry made a mental note to buy Ginny something expensive for her next birthday.
"Well that raises the count to six," Harry crossed off Michael's name.
"Well Kevin and Lisa both joined Neville's army as well, so…" Michael trailed off as he delivered the bad news.
"Brilliant, that brings the count to Neville - twenty-two. Us - six," Harry crossed off more names from the list and rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration.
"Bem and Kellah will probably join Neville," Seamus pessimistically reasoned, "Those dunderheads will just follow Lavender and Parvati. I swear it's like you don't even know those two existed."
"Neville - twenty-four. Us -six."
"That leaves only Su Li from my house," Padma counted off the invisible numbers, "And the rest of the Slytherins," she added as an afterthought.
"And even if we get the rest of the Slytherins, that only brings us to twenty-four versus sixteen. We're vastly outnumbered," Michael concluded. Harry took off his glasses as he pinched the bridge of his noise.
"Why exactly did you volunteer, Harry?" Padma asked.
Why did I volunteer?
Harry sat with his thoughts as he tried to dissect why he volunteered to lead an army. It was suicidal to compete against Neville. Although Harry knew he could challenge Neville in a straight duel, Harry seemingly forgot about the draw the Boy-Who-Lived carried. The Hufflepuffs immediately flocked to him as they saw him as a safe haven. They would all follow Ernie once Ernie had made his decision to join Neville. Ron, of course, would join Neville's side immediately. Harry had held out hopes that Hermione would join his side but knew that was a lost cause. No matter how much their friendship had grown so far, she would choose Neville first.
For now.
"Thought it'd be fun," Harry shrugged cavalierly.
"Awesome," Seamus grinned, "I love the underdog mentality."
"Well, we're going to need more than that," said Michael, "Do you trust Malfoy?"
"Not really," Harry knew that none of them knew the full disclosure of the events at Godric's Hollow, "But he'll be alright."
"So what do we do now…General," smirked Dean.
"We find a way to get the Slytherins to fight for us without cursing us and start planning for Friday. We're going to be outmanned and honestly out talented if the Slytherins are joining us. We're going to need to pull every trick out of the hat to do well in this thing. So let's get started."
***