Malfoy Flavor

-13-

By the time the first meeting was set to begin, Draco was standing by Harry's side, showing his support. Ironically, considering that no one knew who Harry really was, Harry also had Ron and Hermione on his other side, showing their support. Neither party seemed particularly pleased with the other, but Harry didn't really mind. They were behaving better than he could have ever anticipated.

He had to wonder if he was better at persuasive speeches than he realized. Hopefully he was, since that would mean this meeting might go the way that he hoped. With the exception of those who had already left school, all the members of the previous year's DA group were present, plus a selection of other students who had been gathered beforehand—including a few of the Slytherins.

Harry thought about it and realized that his life had really gone for a loop lately, but he was perfectly happy where he was—between his boyfriend and his best friends. He knew one of these days he was going to have to tell them, but he pushed that aside for now. He already had one war on his hands, he really didn't need another.

He stepped forward, gaining everyone's attention. "Everyone figures Harry Potter is supposed to be the Hero of the Wizarding World." Harry glanced around the room to see most people nodding their heads. "Okay, well, he isn't here right now. Supposedly he's off safe in some god-forsaken place training. How likely is it that he can actually defeat Voldemort on his own, though? What about all the Death Eaters? What happens if they decide to attack Hogwarts?

"I, for one, really don't want to just sit here doing absolutely nothing. I realize that many of you have different opinions about Harry Potter. Some of you like him and some don't. I haven't seen him, but as the outsider coming in, I have my own opinions.

"Harry Potter may or may not be able to defeat Voldemort." Harry paused as usual. "But tell me this—why should he have to do it alone? I sure as hell wouldn't want the weight of the Wizarding world on my shoulders. Don't you think that's an awful lot of responsibility to place on one person?

"I asked you all here because, as I said, I don't like the idea of being unable to defend myself. My father told me about the club that was going on last year. My father taught me a lot this past summer, and I learned a lot where I came from. If anyone is interested, I have permission to make this DA, Defence Association, official this year. Open membership to whoever wants to attend.

"I realize that many of you probably don't trust me because I'm one of the evil Slytherin gits." Harry grinned as this brought about a lot of snickering throughout the room. "That's okay, though. At this point, I really don't expect you to trust me." This brought about a lot of blank stares. "What I mean is that I'm willing to prove that I'm trustworthy.

"Let me put it to you bluntly. I really don't give a fuck about the house system here at Hogwarts." Well, Harry thought to himself, being blunt sure got everyone's attention. "I'm not saying that there's anything particularly wrong with having the different houses. I even think friendly competition is good. But from everything I've seen, you people have taken it far beyond that.

"Take each of your main house characteristics—loyalty, intelligence, bravery and cunning. Personally, I think all of those will be needed in this war. I have only been here a few days, and already I'm sick of hearing people say one house is better than the other. And yes, that includes my own house. In fact, after listening to my father most of the summer, I think I was already sick of hearing about how great Slytherin was before I ever got here." He grinned again and more chuckles were heard throughout the room.

"Seriously, I just think there should be a limit to house rivalry. We're in the middle of a major war. Why are we wasting our time fighting each other when we've got much bigger battles possibly facing us?