Chapter Four: A Scene in February
This DA — no, Partisans meeting, Hermione decides she’ll intro a little differently. She calls up her best Umbridge impression to cut the chatter and begin the meeting. “Hem hem. Let’s call this meeting to order, shall we? We have a few matters of business to go over and then Harry will work with you on Patronuses.”
“Blimey, Hermione,” Ron stutters, carding a hand through his hair.
“Thank you, Ronald. I see we have a few fresh faces here. I’m glad to see this, we will need all the help we can get in the coming years, especially as we’re currently isolated from the general war effort. If you’re new, approach me after I’m finished now to do your oaths for the group. You won’t be forced to do anything you don’t consent to, this is just a matter of safety for our group. If we’re going to be a real resistance group, we need to do things outside practicing spells. If you just want to learn magic, you can form an offshoot for education, but unfortunately Harry and I are spread too thin currently to do that. We can offer support, but not twice the training. All of you already know this, so I assume you’re still here. You’re free to leave if not.”
As expected, nobody leaves, since people who would have already done so at the last meeting, so Hermione continues. “A few of you have approached me in the past week with ideas for things we should be working on. Here are some of the suggestions I would like to review: a formal spy code and system to collect information from death eaters’ children, a public relations effort, some method of under-the-table information sharing with adults in the war effort, and a system of recruiting. Are there any other suggestions?” There is a lull, but no hands are raised, so she continues.
“Last week, in this room Harry found extensive literature that seems to catalog spells, many of which are lost centuries ago. Some of them are silly spells or ones that have been replaced by newer spells with the same purpose, but if any of you are interested, I think it could make a good research project to go through those books and sort the useful spells by category. Spells like this could help us catch death eaters by surprise, and if they can’t defend against a spell, even a paint splatter spell could save your life. Harry has started the process, but it’ll go a lot more smoothly with more than two people. If you would like to be involved with teams dedicated to one or more of these efforts, come speak to me at the end of the meeting and I’ll set up a meeting with you all to begin working. The more of you join up, the less work there will be for each of you. Alright, now it’s time for practice to begin. We have an hour and a half or so until curfew. New members, please come see me and I’ll swear you in and teach you the wand motion and basics of the Patronus charm. The rest of you, get a training dummy and Harry will lead you through Patronus practice. Since the Patronus charm is a challenging one that requires a lot of practice, any of you who don’t achieve at least mist are invited to sign up for an undirected practice session here during the week and/or write a short note on the memory you’re using and get advice from me by the next meeting you attend.”
Luna’s Note: Supplemental Materials to follow: An excerpt from the memoirs of Neville Longbottom, the first version of the Partisan Spy Code, photographs from Harry and Cho’s Valentine’s Date, Rita Skeeter’s Article for the Quibbler detailing the events of Lord Voldemort’s rebirth (reprinted with permission in the Daily Prophet) annotated by Hermione Granger and Luna Lovegood, and a letter from Sirius to Harry accompanied by Harry’s reply.
