the order - f.weasley

- c h a p t e r - f o u r t e e n -

 The next two weeks, everyone was on a high.

The fact that everyone was practically rebelling under the nose of the Demon in Pink made her classes bearable and made everyone feel powerful.

The D.A. was thriving at each meeting, and the Quidditch team was also strengthening with each passing practice.

All the while, Hermione and Gemma had created a less suspicious way for everyone to communicate other than them all talking in the halls or corridors of Hogwarts. They enchanted fake galleons that each member of the D.A. now kept in their robe pocket at all times.

"You see the numerals around the edge of the coins?" Hermione was explaining to them at the end of their fourth meeting. She took one of the coins from the basket in Gemma's hands and showed everyone. "On real Galleons that's just a serial number referring to the goblin who cast the coin. On these fake coins, though, the numbers will change to reflect the time and date of the next meeting. The coins will grow hot when the date changes, so if you're carrying them in a pocket, you'll be able to feel them. We take one each, and when Harry sets the date of the next meeting, he'll change the numbers on his coin, and because Gemma and I put a Protean Charm on them, they'll all change to mimic his."

When no one reacted, she looked at Gemma nervously, "Well — I thought it was a good idea. I mean, even if Umbridge asked us to turn out our pockets, there's nothing fishy about carrying a Galleon, is there? But . . . well, if you don't want to use them . . ."

"You can do a Protean Charm?" Terry Boot, one of the D.A. members, asked. He looked at Gemma, "You both can?"

"Yes," The two fifteen-year-old girls replied.

"But that's . . . that's N.E.W.T. standard, that is..."

"Oh," Hermione was basically glowing with pride while Gemma shuffled uncomfortably. "Oh . . . well . . . yes, I suppose it is..."

"How come neither of you are in Ravenclaw? With brains like yours?"

"Well, the Sorting Hat did seriously consider putting me in Ravenclaw during my Sorting," Hermione exclaimed. She didn't spare Gemma a glance as she shrugged again, "but it decided on Gryffindor in the end. So does that mean we're using the Galleons?"

Everyone muttered their agreement and slowly came forward to take one from Gemma.

"You know what these remind me of?" Harry looked between the two.

"No, what's that?" Hermione asked.

"The Death Eaters' scars. Voldemort touches one of them, and all their scars burn, and they know they've got to join him."

Gemma frowned at that, the parallels making her uncomfortable, and looked at Hermione, "Did you—"

"Well . . . yes," Hermione admitted quietly, not looking at Gemma, "That is where I got the idea . . . but you'll notice I decided to engrave the date on bits of metal rather than on our members' skin. . . ."

"Yeah . . . I prefer your way," Harry murmured, taking his own coin and pocketing it. "I suppose the only danger with these is that we might accidentally spend them."

"Fat chance," Ron appeared out of nowhere, looking at his fake coin. "I haven't got any real Galleons to confuse it with."

That night, when Ron returned to his room, he found two real gold galleons in his school bag, held together with a piece of twine.

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