Snape and Lily's daughter

Meeting at the Hog's Head

The first weekend of October arrived. Grace and Hermione had called some people to come to meet them.

Grace, Hermione, Ron and Harry entered the Hog's Head. The four of them approached the barman.

"Four butterbeers, please," Grace said.

The man reached beneath the counter and pulled up three very dusty, very dirty bottles, which he slammed on the bar.

"Eight sicles," he said.

"I'll get them," Harry said quickly.

The four of them got their beers and went to sit at a table further away from the bar.

"You know what?" Ron murmured. "We could order anything we liked in here, I bet that bloke would sell us anything, he wouldn't care. I've always wanted to try firewhisky —"

"You — are — a — prefect," Hermione snarled.

"Oh," Ron said. "Yeah..."

"So who did you say is supposed to be meeting us?" Harry asked.

"Just a couple of people," Hermione and Grace said.

"I told them to be here about now and I'm sure they all know where it is — oh look, this might be them now —" Hermione said.

The door of the pub had opened. Several people came in. Neville walked in with Dean Thomas and Lavender Brown, after them Parvati and Padma Patil, Cho Chang and a friend of hers, Luna, Katie Bell, Alicia Spinnet and Angelina Johnson, Colin and Dennis Creevey, Ernie Macmillan, Hannah Abbott, three Ravenclaw boys: Anthony Goldstein, Michael Corner and Terry Boot; Ginny with another boy, then Fred and George with Lee Jordan. Lastly there was Melia with Susan and Roger Bones, Megan, Ella, Astoria, Blaise, and Daphne.

"A couple of people?" Harry said hoarsely.

"Yes, well, the idea seemed quite popular," Hermione said happily.

"Ron, do you want to pull up some more chairs?" Grace asked him.

Fred went to order butterbeers.

"What have you been telling people?" Harry said in a low voice. "What are they expecting?"

"I've told you, they just want to hear what you've got to say," Hermione said.

"You don't have to do anything yet, we'll speak to them first." Grace said.

"Er," Hermione said, voice slightly higher than usual. "Well — er — hi. I had the idea — that it might be good if people who wanted to study Defense Against the Dark Arts..."

"and we mean, really study it, you know, not the rubbish that Umbridge is doing with us," Grace helped Hermione.

"Hear, hear," Anthony Goldstein said.

"well, I thought it would be good if we, well, took matters into our own hands." Hermione said.

"And by that we mean learning how to defend ourselves properly, not just theory but the real spells —" Grace added.

"You want to pass your Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L. too though, I bet?" Michael Corner asked Hermione.

O.W.L. was the exam students of the fifth year had to do.

"Of course I do," Hermione said. "But I want more than that, I want to be properly trained in Defense because... because..."

"Because Lord Voldemort's back." Grace interrupted her.

Cho's friend squealed and spilled her beer on her clothes, Padma Patil cringed. But everyone was staring at Harry.

"Well... that's the plan anyway," Hermione said. "If you want to join us, we need to decide how we're going to —"