"I can't believe you made me go in there."

"What? Every couple at Hogwarts has been there."

"If you ever drag me into Madam Puddifoot's again, you are dead, Cedric Diggory."

Cedric grinned in amusement at Analeigh's words and swung their interlocked hands playfully. The two of them had just finished having a light lunch at the tea shop on the first trip of the year to Hogsmeade.

"It wasn't that bad," Cedric tried as they strolled down the icy path. November was just coming to an end, but snow had come early and blanketed the wizarding village's roofs and roads. "The tea was good."

"I couldn't taste it over the unnecessarily strong perfume in that place," Analeigh shuddered. "A small part of me thinks you purposely took me there to get back at me."

"Why would I ever want to get back at you? Certainly not because you're cutting our date short at the last minute so we can meet up with Harry and the others."

Analeigh shrunk back sheepishly at the sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"There's no other time or day we can do this!" she defended. Cedric sighed and dropped the act.

"I know, I was just kidding. But we better go on a proper date on the next Hogsmeade trip," he pouted. "Now, where did you say we were going?"

"Oh, a more... private place."

"Sounds suggestive," Cedric wiggled his eyebrows, leaning closer to Analeigh's face. "Is it dark in there?"

"Not like that," Analeigh said, hitting his arm scoldingly.

"Merlin, woman, you didn't have to hit so hard," Cedric rubbed his arm even though she barely put any force into the hit. "Can you just tell me where this meet up will be? You told Alden but you didn't even tell me."

"Because I'm not currently on a date with Alden, so he needs to know how to get to the location on his own," Analeigh deadpanned.

"If you ever go on a date with Alden, I'm cursing you both," Cedric said, making Analeigh laugh under her breath. "Just tell me where we're going already!"

"It's just some place that not a lot of people would go to in Hogsmeade... you know, so we can talk about you-know-what more freely. I'm not telling you until we get there because I'm sure you'd just throw an even bigger fit about cutting this date short."

"Fine," Cedric huffed childishly. For a while, the only noise they made came from their shoes crunching on the snow-covered grounds. Then, Cedric spoke up again but in a lowered voice, sounding slightly hesitant. "Look... is this really a good idea? As much as I want to do it, Umbridge is watching everyone like a hawk nowadays. If she found out that the Head Boy and a bunch of prefects were rebelling against her...."

"Honestly, I wasn't sure if it was a good idea at first, either," Analeigh admitted quietly. "Dad told me to not do anything this year that would get me into trouble, but, well, this is for a good cause. We need to learn how to defend ourselves. We got through that tournament, and now we need to take a step further because a certain toad at school isn't going to teach us how to do that."

Cedric pursed his lips; he did want to fight back and learn real magic because Umbridge was horrible and not letting them do anything worthwhile. Still, he couldn't help but feel reluctant about it because if Umbridge found out, well, he wasn't sure what she'd do to them at this rate. He recalled how Amos also told him before they left Platform 9 3/4 to focus on his academics since it was his last year at school and that the Order would take care of what was happening outside the walls of the castle. Cedric knew his father was only trying to protect him from the brewing war, but he couldn't ignore that everything that had to do with it was slowly but surely seeping into Hogwarts.

"You're right," he eventually agreed. "We need to do this."

Analeigh smiled at Cedric and led him to the beaten-down pub. He raised his eyebrows when they stopped in front of the door.

"You got mad at me for taking you to Madam Puddifoot's and yet we're going in there?" he said incredulously.

"Hey, you did that intentionally," Analeigh pointed out. "This was Hermione's idea."

"Either way, I'm going to need some compensation for this."

"Like what? Do you want me to buy you some treats from Honeydukes later?"

"Not exactly the treat I had in mind..." Cedric tapped his pouting lips. Analeigh pretended to sigh tiredly and tiptoed to place a small kiss there. He beamed at her like a little kid.

"Now, let's go."

She tugged on his hand and pulled him inside the Hog's Head. They already expected it to not look very presentable, but it didn't lessen the distaste on their faces when they saw how unkempt the pub was compared to the Three Broomsticks. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were already inside when they entered. They took their seats next to them on some chairs that looked like they were going to break from the slightest touch.

"So, who's supposed to be meeting us here?" Harry asked.

"Just a couple of people," Hermione said vaguely.

"How many is that?" said Analeigh.

Apparently, a 'couple' to Hermione meant more than around twenty people. Harry was glaring daggers at Hermione's back as the Hog's Head quickly filled up with their schoolmates from different years and houses. It wasn't a surprise to see the other Weasleys there, as well as some Gryffindors like Dean Thomas, Neville Longbottom, and the Patil Twins. From the other houses, Analeigh knew Luna Lovegood, Cho Chang, and even Alden Brown who Cedric asked Analeigh to include, too. However, there were also a lot of people she couldn't recognize, which both worried and comforted her because she couldn't tell if they were there with the right intentions.

When they had all settled in and quieted down, Hermione stood up timidly.

"Um, hi," she began. "So, you all know why we're here. We need a teacher — a proper teacher. One who's had experience defending themselves against the Dark Arts."

"Why?" a Hufflepuff named Zacharias Smith spoke up.

"Why? Because You-Know-Who's back, you tosspot," Ron scowled at him.

"So he says," he narrowed his eyes at Harry.

"So Dumbledore says," said Hermione.

"So Dumbledore says because he says. The point is, where's the proof?"

"The proof's right here, you prat," Analeigh said irritably, gesturing to herself and the two boys next to her — Cedric and Harry. "Or do you also think we went mad in that maze?"

Zacharias went silent, but he still didn't look convinced.

"We just want Potter to tell us more about how You-Know-Who returned," Michael Corner, a Ravenclaw, said this time. "Heart and Diggory don't count as witnesses if they didn't actually see him come back."

"I think us almost getting murdered should count for something," Cedric said, sounding much more composed than Analeigh ever would if she had said that. However, it was precisely that calm yet convincing tone he had used that was enough to shut Michael up.

"I'm not gonna talk about our near-death experiences, so if that's why you're here, clear out now," Harry said frustratedly, standing up. He lowered his voice only for Hermione to hear and snapped, "Come on, Hermione. They're here because they think I'm some sort of freak —"

"Is it true you can produce a Patronus Charm?" Luna Lovegood asked.

"Yes," Hermione answered when Harry didn't. "I've seen it."

"Blimey, Harry. I didn't know you could do that," Dean said in awe.

"And he killed a basilisk with the sword in Dumbledore's office," Neville added.

"It's true," Ginny agreed eagerly.

"Third year, he fought off about a hundred Dementors at once," Ron said.

"And last year, he really did fight off You-Know-Who in the flesh," Hermione finished confidently.

"Wait," said Harry, panicking at all the attention. "Look, it all sounds great when you say it like that, but the truth is, most of that was just luck. I didn't know what I was doing half the time. I nearly always had help."

"He's just being modest —"

"No, Hermione, I'm not. Facing this stuff in real life is not like school. In school, if you make a mistake, you can just try again tomorrow. But out there, when you're a second away from being murdered or watching your friends nearly die right before your eyes on your account... you don't know what that's like."

He sat back down and looked at the ground to avoid all the watchful eyes.

"You're right, Harry, we don't," said Hermione, sitting down next to him. "That's why we need your help. Because if we're going to have any chance at beating... Voldemort..."

The pub went silent at the mention of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

"He's really back?" Nigel piped up in a small voice. All Harry could do was nod. Analeigh risked a glance at the other students — they now looked more convinced than ever. Perhaps this wouldn't be such a bad idea, after all.

★ ★ ★

Everyone at the Hog's Head agreed to sign their names on a list to join this secret organization of sorts. A number of prefects like Ernie Macmillan and Hannah Abbott looked particularly hesitant, but when they saw that Cedric, their own Head Boy and fellow Hufflepuff was one of the firsts to write his name down, they did the same. Neville and Dean even pointed out that all the Triwizard Tournament winners would be in this "club" of sorts, so it would be worth joining as well. That got the younger ones to eagerly jot their names down one after the other.

The Hog's Head eventually cleared up. Cedric departed with Alden since the both of them would be having one of their final Career Advice consultations with Professor Sprout seeing as they were both in their seventh year already. So, Analeigh joined Harry and the others on the way back to Hogwarts. The group — consisting of Analeigh, Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Fred and George, and Neville — was in high spirits after successfully recruiting all those people. They were all pleasantly surprised at the support they received and excited about the thought of learning actual magic again soon. However, they had a pressing problem: they needed to find the perfect time and venue to conduct their sessions.

"Right. Well, first we need to find a place to practice where Umbridge won't find out," Harry started as they walked down the Viaduct.

"The Shrieking Shack?" Ginny suggested.

"It's too small."

"Forbidden Forest?" said Hermione.

"Not bloody likely," Ron said instantly.

"Harry, what happens if Umbridge does find out?" Analeigh wondered, remembering what Cedric was saying earlier. As much as rebelling sounded exhilarating, she couldn't deny that the consequences if Umbridge found out concerned her. Analeigh's father never sugarcoated the situation of the wizarding world whenever he spoke or wrote to her, so she was aware of just how much the Ministry was trying to control Hogwarts.

"Who cares?" Hermione chimed, causing everyone to stare at her in shock. "I mean, it's sort of exciting, isn't it, breaking the rules?"

"Who are you and what have you done with Hermione Granger?" Ron chuckled.

"Anyway, at least we know one positive thing that came from today."

"What's that?" Harry asked.

"Cho couldn't take her eyes off you, could she?" Hermione smirked. Harry felt his heart soar — his longtime crush was finally paying some attention to him.

As they reached the castle grounds, Harry tried to fight off the smile that was creeping onto his face at the thought of Cho possibly returning his feelings. He had been waiting for this moment for the longest time, but he forced himself to focus on the matter at hand again.

"Right," he said seriously. "Over the next few days, we should each come up with a couple of possibilities of places we can practice. We've got to make sure, wherever it is, there's no chance she can find us."

"Will do, Harry," they all chorused. Unbeknownst to them, Professor Umbridge and Mr. Filch were watching them from a distance, already plotting ways to stop whatever those undisciplined students were up to.