"Look, Rose, I'm really busy. The first match of the year is approaching and given we lost to Hufflepuff in the pre-season there's a lot of work to do, ok. So if Albus wants to have a gathering can't it wait until after the match?"

Asked Cecily as Rose Weasley stopped her in the the common room to remind her about some silly meeting thing that she was supposed to miss practise for. "No, Albus found something and told me about it. I told James and he's said we're having a meeting at the Shrieking Shack now. Surely he's told you this already?"

"Found what? Why you gotta be so vague?"

"We can't talk about it here."

"Don't tell me he wet himself or something."

"No. It's serious. I think. You know James, he wouldn't pass on the opportunity to practise unless it was important."

"Why don't you tell James that it doesn't look so good on a Captain if he can't be bothered to practise."

Rose gave an audible sigh of frustration and closed the book she had been taking notes from, the pages hitting together a passive aggressive slapping sound. "Cecily, I'm not James' fucking carrier pigeon."

"I know, it's just that you don't sound very convincing. And I don't want to waste my time. But fine, whatever, James can answer for himself." She said in a huff, which Rose took as her conceding and the two made their way to the Shrieking Shack.

When they arrived, there were a number of people already in tow, and a few old chairs arranged facing the busted piano, which Cecily bemusedly thought looked like it could be some sort of scratch-AA meeting.

Diana Zaidi was stood in the corner by the window talking to Albus as he rolled a cigarette (a nasty habit that Scorpius had got into him not doubt), and shot a cold look as the two of them entered the room for some reason. Hugo was standing with his cousin Roxanne as the two inspected the dilapidated shelves. Shack first-timers, no doubt. There were a couple of other figures that Cecily noticed, all of whom were either friends or family (often both) to James. Just behind her and Rose, sauntered in easily the tallest boy in the room in a brown jacket and cropped jeans, banging his head on the ceiling and cussing something in Gaelic, which despite their shared homeland, Cecily did not understand. Quinn stood behind him and snorted at her friend's clumsiness.

"Nice one Eamon." Said Cecily, which prompted Quinn to say,

"Being tall is an evolutionary progression, you say?" with a raised eyebrow up at Eamon who was enjoying the interaction despite the bump on his forehead which he rubbed sorely.

James was stood at the front leaning over a piece of parchment as he and Louis engaged in brief conversation.

"Well, James, this excuse better be good. We're missing practise for whatever this weird family party is you've got going here." Said Cecily as James approached. Just because he was Captain this year didn't mean he could tell her where to be all the time. And even more so he needed to be the one proposing training sessions rather than taking time off for family functions.

"You came." Said James with a soft smile on his face, at which Cecily was a little taken aback. "I'll explain in a second. You have to trust me." He said before clearing his throat and heading to the front by the old piano. "Right everyone. Most people are here, so we should probably start." James had got glasses over the summer, which was sort of surprising to Cecily. Granted, he only wore them on occasion but if anyone it that family were to have a visual impairment she guessed that the bookish Albus would have gone first. James actually looked... quite nice in them. But standing there in that room, he looked more his father's son than ever, and it made her wonder if history was about to repeat itself.

"So, as some of you know, Albus found something worrying in the library. Some sort of pure-blood supremacy curse, or theory or something. And it was written in Runes which means the person who transcribed it didn't want it to be found."

"And Albus also found some invisible writing on a separate parchment which Lily helped make a copy of." Said Rose as James pulled out a piece of parchment with the circle drawn on the back.

"Let's see it then," called Quinn, and James passed it to the person next to him to have an examine.

"I can't read it. Why didn't you just use the actual page?" Asked Cecily with frustration at the faintness of the ink on the parchment as it was handed to her.

"Because then they'd notice it was gone." Said James, biting his cheek. "So, if anyone recognises the writing, that would be key." He continued as he watched the paper circulate. Cecily noticed that Scorpius Malfoy had apparently snuck in late as usual. He was hardly conspicuous with that silver-white hair. She was surprised he was here, in honesty. James hadn't exactly bonded with him, being a Slytherin and all, and Rose (who seemed about the only one else who knew what was going on) hated him. They had been one another's arch-nemesis since first year, which had proved the bane of Albus' existence who was close to both. Ah yes, Albus. The quiet Potter, the one who liked to melt away into the background. It was easy to forget. As her eyes fell on him, she felt a chill run through her spine as if felt like he was staring intensely at her. But in fact, she realised, it was not at her but through her and at Scorpius who had just entered the room. And it wasn't the 'I'm happy to see you' stare. It was full of criticism.

"So what, it's a creepy old poem. Maybe they're just planning for Halloween a little early this year?" Asked Fred, interrupting the quiet murmur as the others peered at the paper cluelessly. The hand writing thing was a long-shot.

"May be. But it seems an awful lot of effort to go through for a harmless trick." Offered Rose with a frown as she watched Lysander who looked a little nauseous.

"So what you're saying is," began Louis. "We need to watch this and stop whatever is going on?" He said as he passed the image back to James.

James nodded. "You're here because I can trust you. Or maybe not you, Scorp, but that wasn't my decision." James added humorously, which prompted a silent chuckle from Scorpius, who rather sheepishly ran his hand through his hair as James drew attention to his tardiness which he had no doubt hoped would go unnoticed.

"So we're here because you like us, or because we all have our own skills?" Asked Lily, leaning forward. "Because Finnigan here is a talentless moron as I'm sure we all know."

"Oi!" Said Finnigan, turning around to Lily at her provocation which was all meant in good humour.

"Both, to be honest. But because we don't know who's behind this, you're going to have to be careful. We can't afford this getting out." Said James, pursing his lips which prompted nods from the group. He was a natural leader, Cecily could not deny. He just seemed to have a way of saying things that said 'follow me' and you just did. People listened to him and he made you feel valid. It was simple, but a rare enough skill apparently. It was still strange to Cecily that she would take orders from her closest friend. It seemed only last week they were using their bedrooms as Quidditch obstacle courses, jumping around with their parents' clothes as costumes and winning the World Cup with their imaginary brooms. James was a leader, and a man. But he was still the six year old boy who kissed your knee better when you scraped it and made you trophies out of sweet wrappers when you won a game of gobstones. It was a dichotomy she didn't think she'd ever leave behind.

And so, with a firm nod, the group slowly dissipated with the solemn oath not to tell and in determined spirits, and Cecily was shocked back to attention when James called her name.

"Ily, you alright? You've seen sitting there frozen."

"Yeah." She smiled faintly. "I get it now. It's just so... unbelievable, I guess. That this is actually happening."

James looked at her, his smooth brows furrowed over those hazel eyes. "I know. I feel as though this might be bigger than me and Fred, or you or even Louis could handle. And to be honest, I'm scared..." Cecily stood up and gathered her coat, before reaching out instinctively to hug James. He was warm, soft and safe.

"I think...I think it's ok to be scared sometimes James." She whispered, and she felt his chin against her shoulder nodding slightly.

"Oi!" Shouted a familiar voice from outside, and the two broke apart with a grin and a sigh to peer out of the window as Fred squinted up at them. "Fall asleep did we, Cece?" He called again, knowing that nickname irritated her. He was just about the only one that got away with it. "You coming or not!" James rolled his eyes at that remark, and the two made their way down the stairs to join their friend on the way back to the castle.

And so, The Resistance was born.