Diggory Is Still A Loser (book 2)

14- The DA

Although Celia hadn't initially wanted to see Benjamin, she thoroughly enjoyed spending the day with him.
Being around Benjamin made Celia feel happy again, and it reminded her of how things had been before Cedric's death.
He had been there for her during the Triwizard Tournament, when the whole world seemed against her. And it didn't take long for her to feel comforted by his presence once again.
The pair made plans to see each other again, although for the time being they intended on just being friends and not lovers. For they didn't want to complicate or ruin things, by bringing any romantic feelings into the situation.
Having him back in her life made her happy for the first time in ages. And Celia's good luck continued when Harry revealed that he had found a place for their secret meetings to take place.

So, after sneaking out one evening, Celia headed to the 7th floor and stood opposite the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy being clubbed to death by trolls, until the secret door revealed itself to her, allowing her to step inside the hidden room.
She was one of the last to arrive, and she took a seat beside Luna, whom she knew never treated her cruely and who wouldn't stare at her.
Once everyone had arrived, Hermione and Harry stood up to address the room.
"Well, I'm glad that you all found this place O.K. And now that I've had a chance to look around, I think it's perfect for our practice sessions" admitted Harry.
"It's fantastic" replied Cho, making Harry blush and Celia roll her eyes.

"Yes, but before we go any further, I think we should all formally vote Harry as the leader of the group. So that he has authority over everyone. If you want Harry to be the leader, please raise your hand" instructed Hermione.
One by one, everyone in the room raised their hand, even the wart Zacharius Smith.
"Good. I also think that we need a name to unite us as a group" continued Hermione.
"Can we be the Anti-Umbridge League?" Suggested Angelina.
"Or the Ministry of Magic are Morons Group?" Grinned Fred.
"I like the sound of that. Or perhaps the Fudge Should Be Sacked Team, or the Let's Bring Down the Ministry Gang" smiled Celia.

"I was thinking more of a name that didn't tell everyone what we are up to, so that we can safely refer to it outside of lessons" informed Hermione.
"What about the Defense Association, or the DA for short, so that nobody knows what we are talking about?" Suggested Cho.
"Yeah, the DA's good. Only let's make it stand for Dumbledore's Army, because that's the Ministry's worst fear isn't it" said Ginny.
"All in favour of the DA?" Questioned Hermione.
Once again, everyone in the room raised their hands.
"The DA it is then" continued Hermione.

Hermione removed the piece of parchment they had all signed in the Hog's Head, and pinned it to the wall. She then wrote Dumbledore's Army above it, before sitting down, leaving Harry the only one standing.
"Right, shall we start then? I was thinking that the first thing we should do is Expelliarmus, the disarming charm. I know it's pretty basic, but I've found it very useful" announced Harry.
"Oh please. I don't think Expelliarmus is going to help us against you-know-who" scoffed Zacharius Smith as he folded his arms and rolled his eyes.

"I've used it against him. It saved my life in June and I wouldn't be here without it" revealed Harry.
Zacharius's jaw dropped, and the room was deadly silent.
"But, if you think the spell is beneath someone as talented as you, then you can leave" continued Harry.
Zacharius didn't move, and neither did anybody else.
"Alright then, I think we should all divide into pairs and practice" instructed Harry.

Celia's palms began to sweat nervously.
She hated it when she had to pair up with someone, for she didn't have a best friend to partner up with, so was always left alone.
But since it was not just her year group in the room, things were different than they were in her lessons. So she quickly turned to Luna, who hadn't stood up and found a partner yet.
"Will you pair up with me?" Celia asked quietly.
"Of course. I would love to be your partner" replied Luna.

As the girls headed off towards a quiet corner of the room to practice, Celia saw Zacharius continuously failing to disarm Anthony Goldstein.
Every time he opened his mouth, his own wand flew out of his hand.
Celia grinned at the Weasley twins as she passed, as she released that they were the ones disarming Zacharius, behind his back.
"Sorry Harry, we couldn't resist" smiled George, as Harry approached the pair.
"I think he deserves it for being a prat" admitted Celia.
"Maybe, but it's time you concentrated on your own partners" sighed Harry, before heading off to inspect other in the room pairs.

As Celia began practicing the spell against Luna, she realised that her skills had decreased, since she hadn't been paying any attention to her own magic since her brothers death.
Luna wasn't much better than her. Sometimes her spell succeeded in disarming Celia, other times it merely caused her hair to stand on end.
After several minutes of practicing a whistle blew and everyone stopped to turn and look at Harry, who was holding the whistle.
"That wasn't bad. But there is definitely room for improvement. Let's try again" he announced.

Throughout the rest of the lesson, Harry moved around the room, helping each pair to improve, until they could all do it perfectly.
"Well done everyone, that was brilliant. But unfortunately we have overrun, so we had better leave it here. Same time next week?" Questioned Harry.
"Sooner" replied Dean eagerly, and many people nodded in agreement.
Celia looked down at her watch and realised that it was quarter past 9.
The curfew for all students was 9oclock, so if they were caught out of their dormitories, they would all be in big trouble.

"The Quidditch season is about to start, and we need team practices too" reminded Angelina.
"Let's say next Wednesday night then. We can decide on any additional meetings then. But right now we had better get going, so that we don't get caught by Filch" admitted Harry.
He then began allowing everyone out in small groups, so as not to attract any attention.
All the Ravenclaw's went together, then the Hufflepuff's and finally the Gryffindor's.
Celia didn't want to walk with Cho and Marietta, but she didn't have a choice. So she stuck to the back of the group beside Luna, to avoid her roommates.