Chapter 4: Ch 4: Dumbledore's Army
Although Mike's body was that of an eleven-year-old, his mind was far beyond that of the average first-year student. Having lived a previous life and retained all his memories, he found it challenging to connect with his classmates who were still discovering the wizarding world. While they were fascinated by the moving staircases and magical creatures, Mike was preoccupied with the impending danger that he knew was lurking. He couldn't help but think about the looming threat of Voldemort and his followers and the chaos that was sure to ensue.
This sense of responsibility made it difficult for him to let loose and enjoy his time at Hogwarts like the other children. He was constantly thinking about ways to prepare himself for what was to come and how he could help those around him. While his peers were excited about Quidditch matches and Hogsmeade trips, Mike was busy learning the practical defensive spells. He couldn't afford to waste any time, knowing that he had a duty to protect his loved ones and the wizarding community as a whole.
As a result, Mike often found himself feeling out of place and isolated from his peers, but he knew that his unique perspective would ultimately be an asset in the war to come. He was determined to do everything in his power to prepare for the fight against Voldemort and his Death Eaters.
Mike was convinced that the ability to teleport to any place at will was the most practical survival skill, besides immortality.
Since Mike had already drawn the image of a Phoenix on one of the blank canvases, he was unable to draw it again to gain its ability to teleport anywhere. This left him in search of another magical creature that could grant him this ability.
Then, Mike remembered one of the most iconic characters in the Harry Potter series - Dobby the house-elf. He was impressed by Dobby's ability to teleport anywhere at will. He vividly recalled how Dobby had saved Harry and his friends from Malfoy Manor using this unique ability.
As a result, he decided to etch the image of a house elf on one of the blank canvases, hoping to obtain the ability to travel anywhere.
In particular, he was fascinated by the house elves' capacity to disregard enchantments and teleport to heavily warded locations such as Hogwarts.
...
After a month at Hogwarts, Mike's initial excitement had waned as he discovered that classes were not as magical as he had hoped. The workload was heavy, with teachers assigning loads of homework. However, one silver lining was the limited number of classes for first-year students, giving Mike plenty of free time to practice spells or draw the image of a house-elf on parchments.
Despite the usual classes, a dark cloud loomed over Hogwarts as Dolores Umbridge revealed her tyrannical nature. She interrupted ongoing classes, particularly targeting the fifth-year Gryffindor class where Harry Potter was a student. It was no secret that Umbridge was after Potter, as she deemed him to be a troublemaker.
Her goal was to silence Potter and Dumbledore, who claimed that Voldemort had returned. In her Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Umbridge was overbearing and insufferable, causing the students to find her class unbearable.
...
Mike received some familiar news that Harry Potter was going to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts to the students. He recalled from the movies that in his fifth year, Harry had formed a club to teach practical spells to help the students prepare for the upcoming troubled times. However, Mike was not sure of the exact date of when the club would start.
After doing some snooping, Mike discovered that Harry and Hermione had called for a meeting in Hogsmeade for those who wanted to participate in the club, and it was scheduled for October 5th, just two days away.
But there was a slight problem: first-year students like him were not allowed to visit Hogsmeade. This posed a challenge for him, as he wanted to participate in the meeting but was unable to do so due to the restriction.
After careful consideration, Mike finally decided to etch the image of a house-elf on one of the remaining blank Soul Canvases. With the teleportation ability of house-elves, he would be able to visit Hogsmeade without any difficulty.
With a month of practice under his belt, Mike was confident in his ability to etch the image of a house-elf onto one of the remaining blank Soul Canvases. He chose to do this task at night and spent an hour carefully creating the image.
Once he had completed the image, the canvas glowed brightly with green light and he felt the familiar warmth enveloping him once again. As the light dimmed, he realized that he had acquired the house-elf's ability to teleport. The newfound power came to him naturally, as if it was an innate ability.
...
On October 5th, the day finally arrived. As there were no classes on the weekends, Mike had the whole day to himself. He was eager to attend the DA meeting with Harry, Hermione, and Ron, but he didn't know the exact time. So, after having breakfast, he decided to use his new ability and teleported to Hogsmeade.
Although he wasn't sure of the exact time of the meeting, he knew that it would be at the Hog's Head pub. So, he headed there and waited for hours, hoping to catch a glimpse of Harry and his friends.
Finally, after a long wait, Mike saw them approaching the Hog's Head pub from a distance. He felt a surge of excitement and anticipation as he watched them enter the pub.
Mike approached Harry and his two friends and introduced himself. "Hi, I'm Mike. I heard that you're planning to start a defense club, and I'm interested in joining," he said.
Harry and his friends looked at him with surprise. "Why do you want to join?" Harry asked.
Mike explained, "Well, I've heard about your encounters with danger and how you've conquered them."
Mike looked around to make sure no was eavesdropping and continued, "If dark lord really is back, then I want to be prepared to face his cronies. Plus, the way our new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is teaching, I doubt we'll ever learn a useful spell. I think it's better to learn from an experienced person like you than a walking pink-clad toad."
Mike's comment about Umbridge being a pink-clad toad earned a few snickers from Harry and his friends.
Hermione smiled approvingly. "I think you're right, Mike," she said. "We could all use some extra practice, and with Harry leading us, we'll be learning from the best."
Mike followed Harry and his friends to the back of the pub where they were greeted by a small group of students who had already arrived. Mike recognized some of them, like the mischievous Weasley twins, the dreamy blonde Luna Lovegood, and Ginny Weasley. There were others whom he didn't recognize, but he assumed they were here to participate in the club Harry was forming.
Hermione stood up and took a deep breath. "Hi," she said, with a hint of nervousness in her voice.
"We all know why we're here," Hermione continued after a pause. "We need a teacher, proper teacher, someone who's had experience defending themselves against the Dark Arts."
"Why?" asked a boy whose name Mike didn't know.
"Because You-Know-Who is back," Ron interjected.
"So he says," the boy replied skeptically.
"So Dumbledore says," Hermione defended.
"So we're supposed to just take Dumbledore's word for it?" the boy asked.
"The point is, where's the proof?" he continued, folding his arms across his chest.
"How about you tell us about how Diggory died?" the boy suggested. When Diggory's name was mentioned, the atmosphere of the room got tense. Harry, who was sitting quietly in the front till now, sprang up from his seat, his mood clearly unstable.
"I am not going to talk about Cedric," he said with an increasing louder voice. "If that's why you are here, might as well clear out now."
Harry then had a conversation with Hermione in a whispering voice. Meanwhile, suddenly Luna, who was quietly standing at the back, asked, "Is it true you can produce Patronus charm?"
There was a sudden quiet in the room. "Yes," Hermione broke the silence. "I've seen it."
"Blimey Harry!" another boy with a dark complexion said. "I didn't know you can do that."
"And, he killed the basilisk," Neville Longbottom, the round-faced boy, said stuttering. "With the sword in Dumbledore's office."
"It's true," added Ginny Weasley.
"He fought about a hundred dementors, all at once," Ron added.
"And, last year he fought with You-Know-Who in the flesh," Hermione said at last.
"Look, it all sounds great when you say it like that," Harry spoke finally. "The truth is, most of that was luck. I didn't know what I was doing half of the time, I always had help."
Harry looked at Hermione, who said, "He is just being modest."
"No, I am not," Harry retorted back. He then continued his speech with a quivering voice, "Facing this stuff in real life is not like school. In school, if you make a mistake, you can try again tomorrow, but out there, when you are a second away from being murdered or watching a friend die right before your eyes..."
He paused as he stared at those sitting in front of him, listening to him. "You don't know what that's like." Harry slowly sat on his seat.
"You are right, Harry. We don't," Hermione said as she also sat on her seat. "That's why we need your help."
"If we were to have any chance at beating..." She paused and mustered up her courage. "Voldemort."
"He's really back?" asked Colin Creevey in a solemn tone. Mike recognized him from the camera hanging from his neck.
Harry nodded slowly. A solemn atmosphere pervaded the room.
Before the meeting ended, Harry said, "We need a place that we could use to practice spells in secret, so that Umbridge doesn't find out."
"Shrieking Shack," Ginny Weasley suggested.
"No, it's too small," Harry replied back.
"The Forbidden Forest," Hermione suggested.
"No, bloody no," Ron exclaimed, "With all the spiders."
"House-elves," suddenly a voice from the back called out.
Everyone looked back. It was Mike who spoke.
"House-elf?" Harry asked, surprised. "What do you mean?"
Under everyone's gaze, Mike spoke, "Well, house-elves have been working in the castle for thousands of years. Maybe they know of some secret place. I mean if there is any elf who's not going to rat us out." Mike added.
"I am Mike, by the way, a first year," Mike introduced himself to the other students.
As the meeting drew to a close, each of them wrote their name on a parchment paper that Hermione had prepared, and Mike followed suit by writing his own name, "Mike Hobberman."
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