The Potter Twins and the Order of the Phoenix {5}

21. Weasley is Our King

"You hurt me bad this time, no coming back. And I cried 'till I couldn't cry, another heart attack." ~ Forgiveness, Paramore

I've felt as if I'm carrying some kind of talisman inside my chest over the past two weeks, a glowing secret that supported me through Umbridge's classes and even makes it possible for him to smile blandly as I look into her horrible bulging eyes. Myself and the DA are resisting her under her very nose, doing the very thing she and the Ministry most fear. And whenever I'm supposed to be reading Wilbert Slinkhard's book during her lessons I dwell instead on satisfying memories of our most recent meetings, remembering how Neville had successfully disarmed Hermione, how Colin Creevey had mastered the Impediment Jinx after three meetings' hard effort, how Parvati Patil had produced such a good Reductor Curse that she had reduced the table carrying all the Sneakoscopes to dust.

However, it is almost impossible for Harry and I to fix a regular night of the week for the DA meetings, as we have to accommodate three separate team's Quidditch practices, which are often rearranged due to bad weather conditions; but perhaps this is a good thing; I have a feeling that it is probably better to keep the timing of our meetings unpredictable. If anyone os watching them, it will be hard to make out a pattern.

Hermione quickly devises a very clever method of communicating the time and date of the next meeting to all the members in case we need to change it at short notice, because it will look suspicious if people from different Houses are seen crossing the Great Hall to talk to each other too often. She gives each of us a fake Galleon (Ron becomes very excited when he first sees the basket and is convinced she is actually giving out gold).

"You see the numerals around the edge of the coins?" Hermione says, holding one up for examination at the end of our fourth meeting. The coin gleams fat and yellow in the light from the torches. "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 or Haylee sets the date of the next meeting they'll change the numbers on their coins, and because I've put a Protean Charm on them, they'll all change to mimic theirs."

A blank silence greets Hermione's words. She looks around at all the faces upturned to her, rather disconcerted.

"Well--I thought it was a good idea," she says uncertainly, "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?" Tessa asks awe struck.

"Yes," Hermione says.

"But that's ... that's NEWT standard," she says weakly.

"Oh," says Hermione, trying to look modest. "Oh ... well ... yes, I suppose it is."

"How come you're not in Ravenclaw?" Riley questions, staring at Hermione with something close to wonder. "With brains like yours?"

"Well, the Sorting Hat did seriously consider putting me in Ravenclaw during my Sorting,
she says brightly, "but it decided on Gryffindor in the end. So, does that mean we're using the Galleons?"

There is a murmur of assent and everybody moves forwards to collect one from the basket. I look sideways at Hermione.

"You know what these remind me of?"

"No, what's that?"

"The Death Eaters' scars. Voldemort touches one of them, and all their scars burn, and they know they've got to join him," I say quietly, flipping my coin between my fingers.