Fight With Me | Hermione Granger x Female OC (Book 2)

10 - Dumbledore's Army

It was October 5th, 1995, a snowy day in Hogsmeade.

Ellie seated herself by the Weasley twins in a dirty pub off the beaten track, her cheeks flushed red from the bitter cold. Hermione had told her to gather the small group of students at Hog's Head, claiming that she needed to give Harry a pep talk before hand.

"What's your girl got us all here for?" Fred asked loudly, but the rest of the students were too immersed within their own conversations to hear him.

"Fred, stop being so loud," Ellie whispered harshly as she threw a playful punch at his arm in attempt to tone him down.

The door suddenly swung open to let in a frosty gust of wind, causing the band to turn their heads in the direction of the Golden Trio. The atmosphere went silent as they watched the three take their seats at the front. Hermione shifted uncomfortably in her chair, but Ellie beamed at her in reassurance, instantly easing the Gryffindor's nerves.

"Um... Hi," Hermione greeted as she stood up abruptly, the sound of the screeching chair breaking the silence.

The group simply stared at her, not responding. While the rest stared at the girl expectantly, Ellie nodded eagerly, her smile wide in attempt to lighten the mood.

"So... you all know why we're here. We need a teacher. A proper teacher. One who's had experience defending themselves against the Dark Arts."

"Why?" an unfamiliar voice objected, but Ellie recognized him to be Zacharias Smith, a Chaser on the Hufflepuff Quidditch Team.

Although Ellie wanted to speak up on his snarky comment, she refrained from doing so, as she feared that she might end up stirring drama.

"Why?" Ron repeated sarcastically. "Because You-Know-Who's back, you tosspot."

"Tosspot," Ellie snickered quietly. "I've got to use that one more often."

"You've got a problem?" Zacharias suddenly snapped at Ellie. "Don't think we've all forgotten about about Skeeter's article last year."

"Mate, back down," George suddenly snapped at the boy.

Zacharias slid down in his seat, glaring at the redhead and Ellie. Fred and George bumped their fists together, laughing at the boy to embarrass him.

"So he says," Zacharias muttered, nodding at Harry in attempt to return to the conversation.

"So Dumbledore says," Hermione intervened.

"So Dumbledore says because he says!" Zacharias objected. "The point is, where's the proof?"

"If Potter could tell us more about how Diggory got killed..." another boy, Michael Corner, trailed.

Ellie's head snapped in his direction, her fists clenching at his statement.

"I'm not going to talk about Cedric, so if that's why you're here, you might as well clear out now," Harry announced hastily as he stood up.

"Come on, Hermione," Harry whispered, turning to the girl who sat beside him. "They're just here because they think I'm some sort of freak."

"Harry, wait!" Hermione called out in a whisper.

"Is it true you can produce a Patronus Charm?" Luna spoke up, saving Harry from leaving.

Ellie smiled at the Ravenclaw, knowing that she had intentionally asked that to keep him here. The room went quiet for a moment, Ellie and Hermione locking eyes with each other with pupils of hope. The room's atmosphere changed drastically, the students now intrigued.