Erased and Replaced

Part 8~The Hog's Head

"Where are we going, Luna?" Harry stumbled down the road, Luna skipping two steps ahead of him.

Her blond hair blew in the autumn wind, the chill in the air showing the first signs of winter. Luna stopped in front of an old and seeded looking pub. "Here we are," she sang lightly.

"'The hog's head?'" Harry tilted his head, a confused expression on his face.

"Come on, I'll explain inside." Luna skipped inside the pub.

The place was old, grimy and looked two mealworms away from collapsing under itself. The place was dimly lit, with shady witches and wizards sitting in the corners, unease and tension suffocating everyone who entered. Luna grabbed Harry's hand, leading him over to one of the far corners that sat by the front window. There were a lot of people already sitting there, which included Ron, Lavender, Parvati, Cho, Justin, Hannah, Ginny, Fred and George- to name just a few. All in all, there were about 30 people here. Harry couldn't help but notice that he was the only Gryfindor in sight.

He was getting plenty of nervous, distrusting or all-out hating looks from the others. He was just glad Luna and Ron were here with him. Ron took a seat next to Luna and Harry, seemingly having gotten used to their presence.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on yet?" Harry lowered his voice to make himself sound not completely ignorant. Luna was about to answer when the door swung open once again and another group walked in.

Hermoine and Neville pulled in Elijah who looked just as bewildered as Harry felt. Elijah spotted the group and raised his eyebrow at Hermione. "Hermione, what's going on?"

Hermione gave a sheepish smile, dragging Neville and Elijah over to the group. "These are some people I mentioned my Defence Against the Dark Arts idea with." Hermione motioned at the group, sitting down at the front/ Elijah and Neville shared a look before sitting beside her.

"You mean about us teaching ourselves?" Elijah's eyes took in each member of the group. He seemed to recognise the majority of people, faltering over a couple who hid in the back but mainly fluttering over each face.

"Hi, Elijah," Ron whispered fearfully, feeling a little awkward asking for help in fighting.

"Hey, Ron."

"It's good to see that the horned snorkle-stacks haven't gotten you yet, Elijah," Luna stated, making Harry frown.

"The Marotins would get him before the horned snorkle-stacks would," he stated, simply making Luna nod.

"Oh yes, I forgot it was mating season for them. There are hundreds around at the moment."

Harry felt a build of pride for getting the information correct while, Elijah... Elijah was just confused.

Hermione interrupted the conversation by beating on the table. Everyone went quiet. "Hi, everyone. I thought it would be good if we met and talked over how we wanted to teach ourselves Defence Against the Dark Arts." Hermione took a pause. "Because we need to learn it properly, not the rubbish Umbridge is doing."

"Hear, hear," Fred shouted, smirking slightly.

"Obviously, this will help us pass our O.W.L.s, but more importantly, it gives us the ability to protect ourselves from... Lord Morning Star." Hermione's use of the lord's name caused several people to jump or wince. It took more self-control than Harry knew he had not to snicker at the stupid name. It wasn't anywhere near as frightening as Lord Volde. Hermione took a shuddering breath, looking at Elijah expectantly.

"That's the first time you've said his name," Elijah pointed out, making Hermione jump with pride.

"How do we know You-Know-Who's really back?" Harry- along with George- glared at Zacharias who had asked the question. That was stupid.