NOW

Chapter Sixteen Part One

The following two weeks Percy threw himself into work. Additional to homework he now had the meetings of Dumbledore's Army and his regular meeting with Dumbledore himself. Although clearly one of them was doing better than the other, he still hadn't managed to get one charm of the barrier, he was reading and practising for both of them like crazy. Nights he slept were rare and he had gone multiple times to the library to stock on new books. But he was able to see immediate results. Neville had successfully disarmed Hermione, how Colin Creevey had mastered the Impediment Jinx after three meetings' hard effort, how Parvati Patil had produced such a good Reductor Curse that she had reduced the table carrying all the Sneakoscopes to dust.

Percy himself had advanced to hard charms and impossible transfigurations. He was thinking about trying himself in the transformation into an Animagus, but he didn't quite feel the want to hold a leaf of a mandrake in his mouth for a month. Plus he didn't have any need for it. The prime benefits was clearly the disguise and Percy was well able to conceal himself. But it would be a challenge and wanted to see how far magic could take it.

The D.A. meetings weren't regular and often announced shortly and Percy and Hermione had worked on a way to let everyone know for a while. They had spelled fake Galleons for every member that would show the date and time of the next meeting in numerals around the edge of the coin.

"On real Galleons that's just a serial number referring to the goblin who cast the coin. On these fake coins, though, the numbers will change to reflect the time and date of the next meeting. The coins will grow hot when the date changes, so if you're carrying them in a pocket you'll be able to feel them. We take one each, and when Harry or Percy sets the date of the next meeting they'll change the numbers on their coin, and because I've put a Protean Charm on them, they'll all change to mimic theirs.", said Hermione showing of the coin during their fourth meeting.

"Well - I thought it was a good idea," she said uncertainly, "I mean, even if Umbridge asked us to turn out our pockets, there's nothing fishy about carrying a Galleon, is there? But ... well, if you don't want to use them..."

"You can do a Protean Charm?" said Terry Boot.

"Yes," said Hermione. Percy had helped her develop the idea but he didn't have to help her spell any of the coins.

"But that's ... that's N.E.W.T. standard, that is," he said weakly.

"Oh," said Hermione, trying to look modest. "Oh ... well ... yes I suppose it is..."

"How come you're not in Ravenclaw?" he demanded, staring at Hermione with something close to wonder. "With brains like yours?"

"Well, the Sorting Hat did seriously consider putting me in Ravenclaw during my Sorting," said Hermione brightly, "but it decided on Gryffindor in the end. So does that mean we're using the Galleons?" There was a murmur of assent and everybody moved forward to collect one from the basket.

"You know what these remind me of?", said Harry to Hermione.

"No, what's that?"

"The Death Eaters' scars. Voldemort touches one of them, and all their scars burn, and they know they've got to join him."

"Well ... yes," said Hermione quietly. "That is where the idea came from ... but you'll notice I decided to engrave the date on bits of metal rather than on our members' skin..."

"Yeah ... I prefer your way," said Harry, grinning, as he slipped his Galleon into his pocket. "I suppose the only danger with these is that we might accidentally spend them."

"That is brilliant.", said Daphne who just got back from the basket. "How do you get such ideas?"

Percy looked at the coin closely and thought about the golden coin in one of his coats pockets. A coin made of Imperial Gold. It turns into a golden sword on heads and a golden javelin on tails when flipped. It had been destroyed by  during his and Jason's fight on Mount Diablo, but Percy had restored it. Now the powerful weapon had sat in his pocket for two years only to serve as a memorial to his lost friend.