Harry Potter and the Return of Dumbledore's Army

Neville skidded out of the fireplace into an unfamiliar kitchen. Coughing a bit from the ash, he stared at the ceiling for a second, regaining his breath – he truly hated traveling by Floo.

“Neville!” Hands grasped Neville’s forearms and pulled him to his feet. “Glad you made it, mate,” Ron said as he and Harry dusted Neville off.

“Thanks,” Neville said. “Er, I think we should move…”

Susan came flying out of the fire. The three boys scrambled but Harry couldn’t get out of the way in time, and Susan took his legs out from under him; Harry ended up collapsed over Susan in the most compromising-looking position.

“Sorry!” Susan exclaimed, blushing furiously, but Harry just laughed as Neville and Ron hauled him up. Then Neville helped Susan to her feet.

“Hold on,” Ron said; he pulled out his wand and cast a quick Charm, and the dust and ash vanished. Ron flushed from the surprised stares. “What? My mum taught me that.”

Before he could respond, Neville heard a shriek, and he was engulfed in another hug, this time from Hermione. “It’s so good to see you!”

“Uh, h-hi.”

“Oh, come sit down!” Hermione said brightly, and dragged Neville to the table. Everyone gathered around and sat. “We have so much to tell you, Neville!”

“Not yet,” Harry said quickly. “Hermione, you have it?”

“Harry!” Hermione exclaimed indignantly. “This is Neville we’re talking about!” She turned to Susan. “He is Neville, right?”

Susan nodded. “I asked him the questions, and he knew all the answers.”

“There,” Hermione said, as if it was settled. “I don’t think we need to-”

“Hermione,” Harry interrupted, and his voice had a hint of steel. “Everyone. This is not something we’re chancing.”

Neville was sure Hermione would continue protesting whatever Harry was insisting on, but to his surprise Hermione dropped her gaze immediately. “All right,” she muttered, and reached into her robes, pulling out a clear glass vial with a transparent liquid inside. “Neville,” she said, “do you know what this is?”

“Uh…no,” Neville said. He noticed that Ron and Susan had stood to either side of him, and had drawn their wands.

“It’s Veritaserum,” Hermione said with a sigh. “We insist that we confirm your allegiance before you can be given any information.”

Neville’s eyebrows shot up. “Wh-where did you get Veritaserum?”

“I made it,” Hermione answered unabashedly.

“Neville,” Harry said, capturing Neville’s attention, “you can say no, and we’ll Obliviate the little you’ve seen, if you’re not prepared to…”

“No!” Neville said quickly. “Why would I want to do that?”

“I’m just giving you the choice, Neville.”

“I’ll take it,” Neville said instantly.

Hermione stood and walked around to Neville. “Tilt your head back and open your mouth,” she instructed, giving him an apologetic smile. Neville did so, and Hermione withdrew a dropper from the vial. She dropped three drops onto Neville’s tongue.

Harry cleared his throat. “What’s your name?” he asked pointedly.

“Neville Longbottom.”

“And your parents’ names?”

“Frank and Alice Longbottom.”

“What was it you feared most of all in third year?”

Neville really didn’t want to answer that in front of Susan, but he was compelled to mutter “Professor Snape.”

Harry’s face hardened for a moment before relaxing. “Do you agree with Voldemort’s views on pureblooded wizards being superior?”

“No!”

“Why did you come to meet with us?”

“Because I want to help fight against V-Voldemort,” Neville said promptly.

“Are you prepared to rejoin Dumbledore’s Army, and do whatever it takes to bring Voldemort to justice?”

“Yes.”

“Would you still be willing if you knew you might die in the effort?”

“Yes.”

“Are you willing to kill if there’s no other choice?”

Neville swallowed. “I don’t know if I can. I’ve never tried.”

Harry nodded. “Will you abide by the decisions I make regarding how we fight Voldemort, even if you don’t agree with them?”

“I don’t understand the question,” Neville said.

Harry frowned. “What don’t you understand?”

“Is it your decisions? I mean, you, Harry, are you the leader, or are the decisions made by everyone?”

“Everyone has input,” Harry said, glancing at Ron and then Hermione, both of whom looked away, “but I get the final say, whether everyone agrees or not. Will you agree to that?”

“Yes,” Neville said, trusting Harry’s judgment.

“And are you prepared to keep the secrets of Dumbledore’s Army, no matter what it may cost you?”

“Yes.”

Harry grinned hugely. “Welcome to the Army, Neville.”

There was a generally releasing of tension, and Ron and Susan lowered their wands. Neville sagged a bit, feeling surprisingly drained. “I don’t think I like Veritaserum,” he said shakily.

“I’m really sorry,” Harry said, “but we have to-”

“I know, Harry, it’s okay,” Neville assured him. “I just don’t like the idea you could force me to tell you- oh, who I had a crush on Second through Fourth Years, for example.”

“Really?” Ron said, sounding amused. “Say Neville, who did you-”

“RON!” Hermione snapped. “We swore we wouldn’t abuse this!”

“Oh, I’m just kidding, Hermione!”

“Don’t worry, Hermione, I know Ron didn’t mean it,” Neville said. “And by the way, it was you.”

“Oh- me?” Hermione asked, blushing.

Neville chuckled. Harry was smirking as well. “Well, you were always so nice to me,” Neville said, enjoying seeing Hermione squirm, “helping me with Potions and everything. But it was really obvious your intentions were…elsewhere,” he said, glancing at Ron, who went scarlet.

“Well done, Neville,” Harry said cheerfully, slapping Neville on the back. “Embarrassing both Hermione and Ron, and you just got here!”

Neville laughed. “So where is here, anyway?”

“This, Neville,” Harry said, waving an arm expansively to take in the house, “is the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black.”

“House of Black? You mean…Sirius Black?”

“He left me the house when he died,” Harry said sadly. “It’s where The Order of the Phoenix used to meet.”

“Used to?”

“I heard from Professor McGonagall that they’ve relocated to Hogwarts, since it’s closed,” Harry said. “She wanted to keep them operating here, but I told her I intended to live here and that I didn’t want them in my home.” He shrugged as Neville and Susan both looked shocked. “I needed to get them out of here so we could use the house. Besides, Snape’s been here. He can’t get back with the new protections we put up, but it’s better if he thinks there’s nothing going on here.”

Neville nodded. “What exactly was the Order of the Phoenix?”

“Is,” Harry corrected. “It’s still going, although I think they’re floundering now that Dumbledore’s gone.” Harry paused dejectedly and pressed his hand to his chest for a moment before continuing. “The Order of the Phoenix fought Voldemort last time, and Dumbledore reformed them the second he returned.”
“All right. Now tell me about Dumbledore’s army, will you?”

Susan cleared her throat. “Sorry to interrupt, but I have to get back to the store, my break’s almost over.”

“What? But you just got here ten minutes ago!” Ron exclaimed.

“Yes, but Neville and I were catching up a bit before we came through,” Susan said, and turned back to the fireplace before anyone could see her blush. “I’ll be back when my shift’s over.”

“Bye, Susan,” Harry said. “Thanks.”

“Thanks,” Neville echoed. Susan smiled and Flooed away. “Huh. It just occurred to me…Fred and George are in the Army, aren’t they?”

“Of course,” said Harry. “As well as everyone who works there – Susan, Ron, Lee…it’s a great cover for getting people here. Alicia Spinnet is going to be transferring to Madam Malkins’ shop in Diagon Alley in a couple days, and she’ll be able to do the same, hopefully.”

“Who else is in the Army?”

“How about we have lunch while we fill you in?” Everyone liked that idea, so Harry turned to the empty kitchen and said “Dobby?”

With a crack, Dobby the house-elf appeared. “Harry Potter called for Dobby?”

“Yes, we’d like some lunch, please,” Harry said.

“Right away!” Dobby squeaked happily. He vanished for a moment, and reappeared with another elf Neville didn’t recognize. They quickly and efficiently started moving about the kitchen, putting together a large meal.

“Who’s the other elf?” Neville asked Harry.

“Winky,” Harry said. “They both worked at Hogwarts, but I asked if they’d like to be taken on by the House of Black. And I’m paying them,” Harry said at a snort from Hermione, “more than they were getting from Hogwarts. Well, I’m trying to, anyway… Winky still thinks she should work for nothing and was just happy to be taken into a House again, so I’ve created a vault at Gringott’s for her. In case she wants to use it someday.”

“My great uncle Algie had a house-elf,” Neville said, watching the two elves run about, apparently greatly enjoying themselves. “He always swore that they were perfect servants because they couldn’t ever tell anyone what the family they served was doing.”

“That’s true, and Dobby and Winky are bound to the House of Black now, which means me,” Harry said. “Was your uncle doing something he shouldn’t have been, then?”

The Veritaserum was still in effect; “He was dealing in black-market enchanted muggle jewelry,” Neville said, and then slapped his hands over his mouth.

“Bloody hell, sorry, Neville!” Harry exclaimed, mortified.

“No, it’s okay,” Neville said. “It’s not really a secret, he got caught a while ago. We just don’t usually talk about it.”

As Winky went around passing out drinks, something occurred to Neville. “Er…Harry, not that I doubt you, but…what protections are on this place?”

Harry chuckled. “Well, it’s Unplottable, like Hogwarts. And there’s all kind of Repelling Charms, too. But even better than that…do you remember reading up on the Fidelius Charm?”

Neville thought for a moment. “Well, it makes a place impossible to find, except to those who’ve been told, right?” Everyone nodded. “But…then how did I get here?”

“There’s a person who is chosen to be Secret-Keeper,” said Hermione, “who is the only person who can reveal where the location is.”

“So that note Susan showed me- huh. Neat.” Neville glanced around. “Who’s Secret-Keeper for the Army?”

“I am,” said Harry.

Neville whistled. “Wow, Harry… And you cast the Fidelius Charm, it’s supposed to be really hard!”

“Well, since I’m staying here most of the time anyway, it makes sense for it to be me,” Harry said uncomfortably.

Dobby and Winky presented them with a meal as grand as anything they’d ever had at Hogwarts. “So you asked who else is in the Army,” Harry said as they all dug in. “Well, you know about us here, and Susan, of course…Fred, George and Lee, and also Sally-Ann Perks, the Ravenclaw, she’s working at Fred and George’s too. Cho Chang is working at St. Mungo’s and will keep us informed of any war-related patients and what happened to them. Terry Boot’s been dragged off to New Zealand by his parents, but as soon as he’s seventeen he’s coming back.”

“I know someone else like that who might be good to recruit,” Neville offered.

Harry nodded. “Tell me about it later, in private, okay? Justin Finch-Fletchely will be joining us in late August, and Dean should be here next week.”

“What about Seamus?” Neville asked.

Harry exchanged glances with Ron and Hermione. “We haven’t heard back from Seamus,” Hermione said cautiously. “We’re hoping something hasn’t happened.”

“I haven’t decided what to do,” Harry said, biting his lip. “We’ll have to contact him another way.” He shook his head. “I’ll deal with that tomorrow. Anyway, Lavender and Parvati are in, and so is Padma, but we haven’t figured out a decent way to involve them without making it suspicious. We’ll figure it out soon, though, all three of them are seventeen so it makes sense they’re looking at what to do with themselves. Let’s see… Alicia Spinnet I mentioned before. Angelina Johnson’s been traveling the last year playing Quidditch, and there’s talk of her being put on the National Quidditch team, which would take her everywhere, we’re hoping that’ll be helpful. Katie Bell’s just started at the Ministry, she and Tonks are trying to get us inside information.”

“Tonks?” Neville asked. “Who’s that?”

“Oh, sorry. Tonks is an Auror, not that much older than us. She was at Hogwarts when it- when the attack happened.”

“I remember her,” Neville said. “And she’s in the Army?”

“She took the Veritaserum just like you,” Harry said. “She’s even agreed to be magically bound not to reveal anything about the Army to anyone, even the members of the Order of the Phoenix.”

“I wondered about that,” Neville said. “Why is it just us? I mean, shouldn’t we work with the Order, if they did this before us?”

Harry sighed. “I have inside information, I’m sure you guessed that,” he muttered, and Neville nodded. “The Order has its own methods and goals, but what I know means there’s different goals we have to aim for.”

“Like what? I mean, aren’t we all trying to stop V-Voldemort?”

“Of course that’s our ultimate goal, but we’ll be taking different routes to get there.” Harry held up a hand as Neville opened his mouth again. “One thing I learned from Dumbledore is that some things really need to be kept secret, and not just for safety’s sake. You have to trust me that I know what I’m talking about.”

“I do trust you, Harry,” Neville said, and Harry smiled his thanks. “All right, anyone else?”

“Yeah, we’re getting information the public doesn’t hear from a couple places,” Harry said with a grim smile. “From Rita Skeeter at the Daily Prophet-”

“Rita Skeeter!” Neville gasped. “But she was the one who wrote all those horrible things about you!”

“That’s right, and she’s doing her penance now,” Hermione said without shame. “I just happen to have a bit of a hold on her. It was enough to get her alone and slip her some Veritaserum.”

“But…even if she’s not working for Voldemort, how do you know she won’t reveal us to the Ministry, or the Order?”

“We made a deal,” Harry said with a grimace. “I don’t like it, but we need the information, and she’s just the person to get it for us. We have a binding magical contract. She gives us info and keeps quiet, and when the war’s over she gets an exclusive interview with the Boy Who Lived. Assuming I do,” he added bitterly, ignoring Ron’s wince.

“That’s a big sacrifice, Harry,” Neville said encouragingly. “I know how much you hate the public attention.” Harry just grunted. “You said there were a couple places you were getting info from-?”

“Right,” Harry said, shaking out of his pondering. “Luna’s also giving us news from the Quibbler, she’s working with her dad for the summer. They get a fair number of actual true stories that usually don’t get printed.”

“Luna?” Neville was skeptical. “Don’t get me wrong, I like Luna, but is that really a good source?”

“Harry had a talk with Luna in private a week ago,” Ron said, glancing nervously at Harry. “I don’t know what they talked about…”

“Because you don’t need to know,” Harry said sharply.

“I know, I know! Secrets of the Army and all that!”

“No, that’s not it, Ron,” Harry said; he sounded exhausted. “The conversation was very personal, and it’s not my place to tell you Luna’s private stuff.”

“It’s all right, Harry,” Hermione said with a glare at Ron. “Luna’s already proven that what she’s telling us is helpful, and reliable.”

After a long silence, Neville asked, “Harry, why haven’t you mentioned Ginny? Isn’t she helping?”

“Ah, Ginny,” Harry said, smiling ruefully. “Well, Ginny’s a problem.”

“What- Oh, I heard you two…er, broke up,” said Neville tentatively. “Is she mad at you or something?”

“Oh no, Ginny and I are back together!” Harry said rapidly. “No, the problem is that Ginny’s only sixteen. Her mum doesn’t like her disappearing for long periods, and doesn’t want her working in Fred and George’s store for some mad reason. Ginny’s furious, but she can’t push the issue because Mrs. Weasley might get suspicious. She really hates not being able to help.”

“Plus she hasn’t had any private time with Harry for almost a month,” Ron said with a smirk, and Harry’s cheeks reddened.

“We’ll figure out a way to get her back here,” Harry insisted. “Anyway…there’s another couple members that you probably won’t see much of. Ernie Macmillan is pureblooded, and wealthy, so he gets invited to a lot of interesting parties and such, especially now that he’s seventeen. He’s going to be sounding out possible insiders in the Death Eaters who might help, as well as trying to recruit some of the ones who are our age…after he gets a few lessons in subtlety from our only Slytherin member.”

“We have a Slytherin member? Who?”

“Pansy Parkinson. I know, I know,” Harry said at the gobsmacked look on Neville’s face. “I’m not too happy with her myself, she’s arrogant and still thinks purebloods are better than anyone, but she doesn’t support Voldemort, and thinks killing is wrong; we found that out when we questioned her under Veritaserum. Plus, she-” he cut himself off, and scowled. “She’s sweet on Draco Malfoy.”

Neville frowned. “But he’s a Death Eater.”

“Maybe. Wait, wait!” Harry cried over the protests. “Inside information, remember? I’m not saying I like or trust the bastard, but what I know is- hard to decipher. He’s…a question mark, that’s all I can say right now. To get Pansy on our side, we agreed to at least make a bit more of an effort to help him. But I made it very clear to Pansy that we won’t risk our goals to save the git, and she understands that. She’s under a magical geas now, Hermione cast it. She can’t reveal anything about us, no matter what; and if someone tried to force her, the geas would literally kill her.”

“Kill her?” Neville yelped. He gaped at Hermione. “I don’t believe it! Aren’t we better than that?”

“We’re protecting ourselves, Neville!” Harry snapped. “None of us are happy about it, why do you think I asked you about killing? If you’d said you’d strangle Bellatrix Lestrange with your bare hands, I’d have Obliviated you right then! Killing is that very last thing we can ever do, and only when it’s literally life or death!”

“I hated doing it, Neville,” Hermione said softly, looking wretched. “Knowing something I did could take a life…” She gulped. “But Harry’s right. If she revealed what she knew it could mean all our lives. And Pansy consented, knowing what it meant. We had to do it.”

Neville took a deep breath. “All right…I think I understand. And Harry, I do want to be the one who brings down Bellatrix Lestrange – but I want to bring her to justice. Not kill her.”

Harry smiled. “I know, Neville, I knew that long before today. Dumbledore once told me we’d all have to choose between what’s right and what’s easy. But it wasn’t even a choice for you, it never was. That’s why I wanted you here.”