Matilda Matlock

Secrets and Surprises

Matilda did not respond for a moment, her eyes squinted at Luna while her friend was smiling pleasantly at the girl, an idea sparked within her wide, glimmering gaze. 

"Erm... what?" 

"You can be our teacher!" Luna repeated. "Don't you see? Umbridge has not and will not teach us a thing about proper defense. When You-Know-Who is out there and a constant threat to our safety, and you fought him in that graveyard, you know spells and tricks and all kinds of things that can protect kids like us from danger, don't you think that you should teach us?"

Matilda blinked a few times, trying to take in her friend's excited words. 

"I... I don't know, Luna, that's... that seems pretty unwise..."

"But why is it?" Ginny now piped up, her own expression growing eager as she walked to sit beside Luna. "It's brilliant. It's brilliant, Luna, it really is. You should, Tillie. Think about it-"

"But I am, and I'm more importantly thinking about how pretty much everyone here thinks I'm a nutter!" Matilda interrupted. 

"Not everyone," Luna reminded her. 

Matilda scoffed. "Well, a good plenty!" 

"Matilda, he's out there," Ginny said in a lower tone. "There's no getting around it... you know that better than anyone. And you know how to defend yourself... you are the answer."

Matilda began to slowly pace the classroom, raking her hands through her hair as her mind raced around a storm of intense contemplation. She stopped, turned to her wide-eyed friends, and spoke in a cautious voice. 

"Okay, well... if we were to do this... if... how in the world would we go about it? Umbridge's now got her eye on practically every one of us ever since she was appointed to that stupid position!"

"We could start off with getting the word out, quietly," Ginny said. 

"Ask people between classes and where we can if they're interested in learning some actual defense," Luna added. "It could be like a study group..."

"A study group focused on fighting Voldemort?" Matilda said.

Ginny gulped. "Not fighting, exactly... just... being prepared."

Matilda chewed her bottom lip as Luna continued thinking aloud. 

"We could ask people that we think have good judgement," she said. "I mean, not Malfoy, or his friends, because... did you hear about the Inquisitorial Squad?" 

"The what?" Matilda said. 

"It's a student group banded by Umbridge that supports the Ministry and are pretty much assigned to kiss her arse," Ginny explained with a roll of her eyes. 

"Why am I not surprised..." Matilda sighed. "Alright, well, we don't tell them, obviously... but what about the people we already trust? Harry, Hermione..." 

"I can tell my brothers, too," Ginny said quickly. "They'll get the word out to whoever they can, I know it. And us three, well, we can do the same, can't we?"

"We can," Luna said, smiling. 

Matilda's heart had begun to race. She flicked her eyes between her two excited friends, her own face a bit more tense than their's; possibly because she was the one who would be teaching these students.

"Are we really doing this?" Matilda breathed.

Ginny and Luna looked at each other, smiled, and turned back to the girl staring at them with a jumble of nerves in her stomach.