Harry Potter and the Return of Dumbledore's Army

Harry led Neville up to a room on the third floor. “Here you go, Neville,” he said, pushing the door open. “You can stay in here.”

Neville stared about in wonder. The room was enormous, and much more luxurious than anything he’d ever seen. There was a gigantic four-post bed, more than double the size of their beds at Hogwarts; there was even a private attached bathroom. “Harry, this place is huge! I don’t need something like this!”

“Well don’t get used to it, because you might have to share if we get crowded,” Harry said amusedly. “And don’t worry about the luxury, the whole house has rooms like this. We just cleaned it and refurnished.”

“So this furniture is new?”

“Some of it. Why?”

“Harry, where is the D.A. getting the money for all this?”

“Oh.” Harry smiled sadly. “I told you that Sirius Black left me this house…well, he left me the entire Black family fortune as well, which was very substantial. You should see the vault at Gringotts, it’s scary, you can’t even see the back wall for all the Galleons. And that’s not counting all the other stuff – properties, bonds, you name it.”

Neville whistled. “No wonder you’re not worried about money!”

“Nope.” Harry leaned against the doorframe and watched with a grin as Neville explored the room. “So, you want the tour?” he asked eventually.

“Oh, yeah, sorry,” Neville said, and followed Harry out.

“Okay, this is the third floor,” Harry said, “and this floor and the one above are all bedrooms. Not much to see – unless you fancy a peek through Hermione’s keyhole.”

Neville blushed brightly. “No thanks, I’ve gotten over that.”

“Oh…” Harry laughed as they headed down the stairs. “That’s not what I meant, actually. Her and Ron have been running off to her room every chance they get, and even though they put Silencing Charms up, I bet the view through the keyhole is something.”

Neville went even redder. “I think I’ll pass. Uh…it doesn’t bother you?”

Harry looked surprised. “Of course not! I’ve been waiting for the two of them to stop bickering and start snogging for ages!”

“No, I mean…you don’t think personal relationships are a bad idea inside the D.A.?”

“You mean because of the positions we might find ourselves in?” Harry grimaced as Neville nodded. “It’s occurred to me, but…with what we have ahead of us, I’ll be damned if I deny anyone something that makes them so happy. It wasn’t a problem for the Order, anyhow. And if not now, then when? Besides,” he said, reddening a bit, “I’m not letting Ginny go again.”

Neville smiled. “Good, because she’s vicious.”

“Tell me about it. Now this,” Harry said, “is the second floor; this is where a lot of work is going to be happening.” He opened a door to his right. “This is the training room.”

Neville looked in on a room that was far too big for the house; it had obviously been magically enlarged. There were a number of bookshelves and chests, all containing materials to help learn new spells and charms. “So it’s like the Room of Requirement?” Neville asked.

“Well, it doesn’t do what the R.O.R. did, but we’ll use it for the same purpose,” Harry confirmed. “Any time you want to practice, or learn something new, you can use the room, just don’t get in anyone else’s way.” Harry shut the door. “The two rooms on the same side are exactly the same, but without the books and junk; that way if people want to practice dueling they don’t have to worry about errant spells hitting other pairs.

“That room,” he said, pointing to the one across from them, “is the Apparation room. The house has an anti-Apparation Spell on it, but Hermione figured out the Charm that allows Apparation in one room. You can’t get in or out of the house, just jump around the room – like the training room, it’s just for practice.

“The room next to it is the, er, conference room. It’s spelled for complete privacy. But if you’re looking for a spot to shag, use your room.” He grinned at Neville’s embarrassment. “I saw Susan blush downstairs, Neville. Good luck with that.”

“It’s not what you think,” Neville insisted. “She’s a friend, and she’s scared. We just…”

“Oh.” Harry nodded. “None of us know Susan that well. Was she confiding in you?”

“Yeah, a bit.”

“Good. Everyone needs someone to talk to. Especially now.” Harry opened the door and gestured for Neville to enter. Harry shut the door behind him, and Neville gasped. “Pretty neat, huh?”

Neville thought that was an understatement. The moment the door had closed, the entire wall had gone completely transparent, so they could see the hallway perfectly. “Wow, that’s incredible!”

“It’s probably not necessary, but I thought I’d put up every potentially useful protection on this room I could think of. Right now the door’s disappeared from the other side, and even if you knew the room was there you wouldn’t be able to get in,” Harry told Neville. “We use this room for…sensitive conversations; mainly things that only a few of us know.”

“What few?”

“Er…” Harry looked uncomfortable. “Me, Ron and Hermione, and Ginny if she’s here. I’m sorry Neville, I don’t want you to think I don’t trust you…”

“It’s fine, Harry. You said there’d be some things I wouldn’t know, and I’m okay with that. Some of it I bet I wouldn’t want to know anyway.”

“Probably not.” Harry sat at the rectangular table, and after a moment Neville joined him. “I thought since we’re here, you could tell me about that person…the one you said might be a good idea to recruit?”

“Oh- right,” said Neville, who’d forgotten. “I was thinking of Hannah Abbott.”

“Hannah?” Harry said skeptically. “I dunno, Neville. After her mum died…”

“That’s part of why I think she’d be good,” Neville said. “Her father just took her off to Canada, but right before she left she told me she’s coming back to help the Ministry fight Voldemort the day she turns seventeen.”

“Oh!” Harry looked surprised by that. “Hm. Would you be willing to get in contact with her? Just letters…keep in touch with her, and if it turns out she really does come back we can see about talking to her.”

“All right. I would have anyway.”

When they left the room, Neville watched the door, but nothing happened. “Why isn’t it disappearing again?”

“Because there’s no one in there,” Harry said. He stepped across the hall and opened another door. “And this,” he said, “will be your room.”

Neville stepped inside and found a mostly bare room. There were a few chairs and tables, but nothing else. “Er…what am I supposed to do in here?”

“Plants, Neville,” Harry said. “You’re the best at Hogwarts in Herbology, Professor Sprout said so. You’ve got a knack, and we can really use it. We’re going to need ingredients for Potions – there’s a lab in the basement – and we need you to grow them. Plus, Cho’s done some training in Healing. I want you to work with her, growing ingredients for her and learning as much Healing as you can. We may need Healers right with us in a fight, and you and Cho are the best choices for it.”

Neville swallowed. “I don’t know what to say. That’s a big responsibility.”

“Yeah, I know, but I know you can do it, Neville.”

Neville nodded, trying to sound confident. “Yeah, I can, and I will, Harry.”

Harry’s apprehension drained away. “Great! Thanks a ton, Neville, we were worried we wouldn’t be able to pull this off. Is this room okay, will it work for the…er, greenhouse?”

“It should, it’s got a lot of light,” Neville said, “but it’s a bit small.”

“I’ll cast the Room Enlargement Spell in here like I did with the training rooms, will that be big enough?”

“Oh, yes,” said Neville happily. “I’ll need some things, too.”

“Make a list of everything you need, and I’ll see that we get them quickly. And get with Cho and Hermione about what plants to grow. Hermione’s kind of our Potions expert, although she’s working with Pansy when they can since Pansy’s really good with Potions. Neither of them are happy about it,” Harry said ruefully, “but it works.”

“Harry,” Neville said hesitantly, “what sort of things do you think would be…appropriate to grow?”

Are you asking about potentially dangerous or controlled plants?” Harry asked shrewdly, and grinned when Neville nodded. “Anything that you think would be useful, tell me, and I’ll get it for you. Don’t ask me how, don’t worry about it, and don’t worry about if it’s dangerous or illegal. No matter what it is, I’ll get it.”

Neville grinned like a kid in Hogsmeade for the first time. “This is going to be so much more interesting than my gran’s garden.” He frowned as a thought occurred to him. “Harry, you said in your letter you’d have a- a cover for me. What do I tell my gran?”

“Ah,” said Harry, looking rather pleased. “You know the store Magical Herbs, that little hothouse just off Diagon Alley with the storefront that sells their plants?”

“Yeah, of course! That’s where I got my Mimbulus mimbletonia!”

Well, they need students to apprentice for the summer – possibly longer, if Hogwarts stays closed. They wanted a recommendation, so-” Harry cringed as though expecting Neville to lash out at him. “I forged a letter from you asking Professor Sprout for a recommendation. She sent a glowing one, and Magical Herbs leapt at the chance to have you. I- I hope you don’t mind…”

“Mind? Of course not! That’s like my dream job!” Neville exclaimed ecstatically. “Other than Professor of Herbology, of course.”

“Well between that and the work here you’ll be sick of plants within a month,” Harry said, looking relieved. “And you’ll still be working for the Army while you’re there – keeping your eye out for anyone who buys something unusual, that might possibly be dangerous. Tell your gran you’re staying with Fred and George, they’ll forward any messages to you.”

“That’s perfect, Harry. Any way I can help.” Neville thought for a moment. “Er… Harry, do you think that- well, that, um sexually, things are going to be kind of…loose?”

“It might be. So long as it doesn’t cause problems, I think it’s okay. We’re all going to be really wound up, and if it helps relieve tension, it might be a good thing.” Harry shrugged. “I think some of us aren’t really inclined that way. I just don’t want anyone getting hurt by it. Why do you ask?”

“Well, there are some plants that are…well, aphrodisiacs,” Neville said.

“Aphro-what?”

“Um, stimulators,” Neville explained. “Things that make people more aroused. And there’s other sexually helpful plants. What do you think?”

“I don’t know,” Harry said, rubbing the back of his neck. “All right, grow a few of them, and I’ll speak to everyone privately about it. But if anyone does want them, you’ll keep it a secret, right?”

“Of course! But it might be tough to get some of the seeds, they’re-”

“Don’t worry about that,” Harry interrupted with a grin. “We won’t have any trouble getting dodgy things. Oh, I suppose there’s no harm in telling you. Ever heard of a bloke named Mundungus Fletcher?” Neville shook his head. “Well, Mundungus is a crook. He was in the first Order, and he’s in the current one. And he owes me big,” Harry added with a scowl.

“Why?”

“He swiped things from this house to hock while the Order was still here,” Harry growled. “I caught him at it. He already owed me, and he was stealing from me since I’d inherited everything. He came begging my forgiveness – I think he was afraid I’d hunt him down and hex him – and I made a deal with him. He can get pretty much anything questionable we might need – in between hunting down the things he sold and getting them back for me.”

“Huh. Is he under a Spell not to tell anyone about us as well?”

“Yeah, but not one that would kill him. It’ll just make his tongue grow four feet long. Got the idea from Fred and George.”

Neville laughed. “He sounds useful.”

“He’s wretched, but he’s already been a big help,” Harry confirmed as they reached the kitchen. “Hi, ‘mione,” he said to Hermione who was at the table. “When will you have time to talk to Neville about plants?”

Hermione looked up and smiled. “So you’ve agreed?” she asked Neville, who nodded. “Oh, thank you so much, Neville! How about tonight at seven? Pansy will be here and we should really all talk together.”

“I’ll see if I can get Cho here as well,” Harry added.

“Sounds good,” Neville said happily.

*****

That afternoon Neville went to Magical Herbs and presented himself for work. The manager was ecstatic to see him, and they arranged a work schedule for twenty-five hours a week, which would give Neville enough time for his other work for the Army, although he didn’t say that. Then he went to meet with some of the others in a little café. Since they didn’t want everyone to know they were working together, Neville greeted Harry and Hermione as though he hadn’t seen them for a month, trying not to laugh.

Sally-Ann Perks joined them as well. Neville didn’t know her very well, but she was easy to talk to, with a very Ravenclaw-like efficiency in her speech. “Susan and Lee are still working,” she told them once they were all seated. “Where’s Ron?”

“He went home, but he’s supposed to meet us here,” Hermione said, frowning. “And I specifically told him when we were meeting, too.”

Neville caught a glimpse of red hair at the door, and smiled. “Hey, Ron’s here, and he brought company, Harry!”

Harry turned to look and gaped. “Ginny!”

Ginny hugged Harry and kissed him on the forehead. “Come on, push over,” she said with a grin, and shoved at Harry until he made room for her.

“How did you get your mum to let you come?” Harry asked.

“Ron, actually,” Ginny said, smirking at her brother, who was seating himself next to Hermione. “He told mum we were getting together to talk about what we’d do for a living if Hogwarts doesn’t open again, and somehow managed to convince her to be impressed with our maturity.”

Harry snorted. “Mature? Us? How the hell did you pass that one over, Ron?”

“Oh, stop,” Hermione said as everyone laughed. “Our futures are important!”

“Well, I’ve got a big start,” Neville said. “I’ve just taken a summer job at Magical Herbs down the street.”

They’d agreed before to pretend not to know about each other’s plans. “That’s wonderful, Neville!” Susan exclaimed as Harry pounded him on the back. “It’s just what you wanted, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it’s perfect,” Neville said happily, catching Harry’s eye and smiling his thanks.

“Sounds a bit dull to me, but to each their own,” Lavender said over Neville’s shoulder. “Hi, everyone!”

Everyone stared. Lavender, Parvati and Padma were all standing by their table. “Um, hi,” Harry said once he’d found his tongue. “I didn’t think you’d get my letter about this meeting in time.”

“Oh, it was a great coincidence,” Padma told them, as she, Parvati and Lavender moved another table closer and took seats around it, and Padma and Sally-Ann greeted each other warmly. “We’d been planning on coming to Diagon Alley today anyhow, to finalize our new jobs.”

“Your what?” Harry gasped. “After all the time-” He cut himself short and flushed.

“Lavender and I are going to start as apprentices at Madam Malkin’s tomorrow,” Parvati said smugly, skillfully ignoring Harry’s almost-gaffe about trying to find them jobs. “Two of her apprentices quit to work for the Ministry, and she owled us right away.”

“Since you’ve been such good customers, I suppose,” Hermione said a bit sharply. Neville suspected her rather harsh attitude might have something to do with how Ron had been snogging Lavender most of the previous year.

“She knows we know what we’re talking about,” Parvati confirmed a bit flippantly, while Lavender glared daggers at Hermione.

“So what about you, Padma?” Neville asked quickly, hoping to banish some of the tension. “You’re not working at Madam Malkin’s too?”

“I’m not quite as obsessed with clothing as these two,” Padma said matter-of-factly, jerking her thumb at Parvati and Lavender; Parvati stuck her tongue out at Padma. “No, I’ll be working at Flourish and Blotts.”

“Oh- that’s where I’m working!” Hermione exclaimed.

“Excellent,” said Padma briskly, smiling sincerely at Hermione. “I’m glad there’s someone I know working there, the owners were a bit intimidating.”

“Oh, they’re wonderful to work for once you get to know them.”

“Wait a minute,” said Ron, glancing around at the other eight students. “Everyone here has a job! Except for Ginny, but that’s only because of mum. So what’re we worried about?”

Hermione rolled her eyes. “Ron, we’re here to talk about our futures, not just summer jobs!”

“My future consists of ‘Live as much as you can, because tomorrow you might be dead’,” Lavender said acerbically.

No one missed the hidden meaning behind the cryptic statement. Padma, in an attempt to distract Hermione and Lavender from glaring at each other, turned to Harry and asked “Harry, what’re you doing?”

“Uh…what do you mean?”

“Well, all of us are getting jobs, and working, even if a lot of it is just temporary…I know what everyone here is doing over the summer except you. What will you be up to for the next few months?”

“Either living a life of leisure or isolation, according to the wizarding papers,” Harry said sourly. “Neither of which is true, as I’m sure you know. But I don’t have to work, it’s fairly common knowledge my parents were well off, and it’s not exactly a secret I inherited all of Sirius Black’s fortune. I think most people are assuming I’m using my money to hide away from Voldemort and the public.”

“I can’t believe that after everything you’ve been through the Prophet still won’t give you a break, Harry!” Lavender exclaimed indignantly. “They’re not happy unless they’re either slandering you or making you out as the savior of the wizarding world!”

“I’ve noticed,” Harry grumbled. “I’d rather have stayed ‘the Boy Who Lived’ than ‘the Chosen One’, but both were better than reading daily how I’m letting the wizarding world down by hiding from Voldemort like a coward.”

That statement led them into a rambling discussion of how useless the entire wizarding world’s media was (although Harry, Hermione and Ginny vehemently defended The Quibbler). The nine friends had a pleasant lunch after that, and Lavender’s fierce indignation on Harry’s behalf clearly thawed some of Hermione’s animosity. As they wound down their meal Sally-Ann asked Padma where she would be staying. “Are you going to be flooing home each night?”

“Merlin, no!” Padma exclaimed. “No, Fred and George said they had a couple spare rooms over their shop that we could rent. It’ll be a bit tight, but the three of us will manage.”

“In fact, we need to head over there to talk to them,” Lavender pointed out.

After settling the bill (Harry insisted on paying for everyone), the group headed to Fred and George’s shop together. As they approached the door, Harry grabbed Neville’s arm, holding him back slightly. “Neville, Sally-Ann is flooing straight back to the house, she just got off her shift,” he whispered in Neville’s ear. “When we get inside, get Susan and tell her, loud enough for anyone to hear, that we want to include her in the talk and we’d like to use the back room. When Fred and George let you back there, draw your wand; we’ll bring the girls back there and give them the questions.”

Neville nodded to show he understood. He waved at Susan, who smiled back. They met by the back door. “Hi, how’d the discussion go?” Susan asked.

“Still going,” Neville told her. “We were wondering if we could talk some more in the back room.”

“Oi, what do you think this is, the Gryffindor common room?” Fred (or George exclaimed indignantly as he stopped on his way to the till.

“Obviously not, George, or I wouldn’t be here, would I?” Susan pointed out with a raised eyebrow. “And besides, don’t you want to help your fellow ex-students, set adrift in these trying times? Well, don’t you?”

“All right, all right!” George said, waving his hands in front of his face and averting his eyes. “Just don’t do the eyes on me, I swear you should be banned as an Unforgivable!”

“It took me a lot longer to learn that, George,” Neville told him ruefully.

“Just don’t you forget it,” Susan said with a smirk. “Come on!” She dragged Neville into the back again.

“Harry told me we should draw our wands, he’s going to bring Parvati, Padma and Lavender back here,” Neville said the second they were out of sight.

Susan nodded and they both pulled out their wands. They were joined after a moment by Ron and Hermione; Sally-Ann headed straight for the fireplace, and with a tired smile she threw the Floo powder on the fire, shouted “The House of Black!” and vanished.

To Neville’s surprise, Fred (or George) joined them, walking through the door with Ginny. “Harry asked me to,” he said with a shrug. “Strength in numbers or some such thing. I think leadership’s going to the poor boy’s head.”

“Stuff it, Fred,” Ginny said with a scowl, “if you want to sit down again this week.” From the way Fred paled the threat was significant.

Neville was about to ask Ginny and Susan how they told Fred and George apart – almost five years in Gryffindor with them and Neville still couldn’t – when Padma, Parvati and Lavender walked in. They walked to the middle of the room and stopped when they saw the circle of wands. “What the hell is this?” Parvati exclaimed indignantly. “Hermione…Ron, Neville! You know you can trust us!”

“No we don’t.” Everyone turned to see Harry shutting the door. He drew his own wand, and to Neville’s surprise pointed it at Ginny. “You too, Ginny. Hermione, you have it?” Hermione nodded and pulled out the bottle of Veritaserum.

It was very odd for Neville, watching the interrogation from the other side. Ginny agreed to take the Veritaserum immediately; Padma, the more logical-minded Ravenclaw, agreed right away as well. Parvati was reluctant, but followed her twin’s lead; however, Lavender was incensed, and only agreed after receiving promises that she wouldn’t be asked anything…personal. Each of the girls was separately asked a series of questions similar to the ones Harry had asked Neville; Harry did all the questioning himself, and was extremely thorough.

Finally they were done, and while Harry was telling the girls how to get to the House of Black, Hermione drew Neville aside. “Take this,” she said, handing him what turned out to be a cap from a butterbeer bottle. “Ron made Portkeys when he went to use the bathroom in the café, that’s why he asked for our bottle caps. Head out to the Leaky Cauldron, and as soon as you get in there find a private spot. Tap this with your wand and say ‘Portus’, and it’ll transport you right here so you can Floo back to the house. I’ll be doing the same from Flourish and Blotts.”

Neville nodded. “But why just me? If we’re trying not to look too much like we’re all meeting here…”

“Ron, Sally-Ann, Susan, Parvati, Padma, Lavender, Lee, Fred and George are all supposedly staying in Fred and George’s flat,” Hermione said with a wry smile. “Luna’s trying to convince her dad to let her stay there too, for some ‘privacy’, and Ginny told her mum she’s staying there for a couple of nights. It’s the single largest two-bedroom flat in the country, apparently. But they can just come here after work and Floo into the house, and there’d be no reason to suspect anything, since there’s no reason to flat couldn’t be enlarged.”

Neville said goodbye to everyone, welcoming Lavender, Parvati and Padma to the Army as he did. The three girls were all grumpy after their interrogations, but still gave Neville sincere smiles before saying goodnight, “Although we’ll see you shortly back at this amazing house, won’t we?” Lavender pointed out.

“True.” Neville waved one last time and stepped back into the shop with Fred and Susan. He said goodbye to Susan as Hermione and Ginny headed out, giggling together, and then stepped out into the street. It was just beginning to get dark, and Neville shivered in the cooling air. Realizing he needed to send an owl to his gran before it got too late, he quickened his pace and soon found himself stepping through the passage into the Leaky Cauldron. Glancing around nervously, Neville slipped into the bathroom before anyone could see him; after making sure he was alone, he pulled out the bottle cap, tapped it lightly with his wand and muttered “Portus.”

Having never traveled by Portkey, Neville discovered that there was a magical method of travel he disliked even more than Flooing. His feet hit the ground and he stumbled, slamming into the wall with his shoulder. Before he could collapse a pair of hands grabbed him. “Are you all right, Neville?”

Neville nodded carefully. “Thanks…er, Fred?” he replied, not quite asking the question.

“George, but close,” George answered with a grin. “Hermione, bossy little know-it-all that she is, insisted someone catch all you cloak-and-dagger travelers before you cracked your skulls and damaged our merchandise.”

“Somehow I doubt she put it quite like that,” Neville chuckled, heading for the fireplace.

“Apples and oranges, Neville old bean,” George said innocently. “Oh, and by the way,” he added before Neville Flooed to the house, “Welcome to the Army.”