NOVEL WEB Chapter 80: The Contract
Harry turned his attention back to the Slytherin table and addressed its occupants. "Any of you who are sincere will not have any trouble with the contract. I promise you that. Any of you who are trying to think of other ways around it, I would advise not to try it and just to leave now with your dignity."
Harry again waited for the table to rise into some form of action. A few of the Slytherins left after a minute's deliberation. Only eight occupants remained at the table. They were all exchanging glances between each other, unsure of how to proceed. Finally, after a few minutes, Blaise Zabini stood from his seat and strode toward Harry. He stopped in front of him and asked pointedly, "Did you mean what you said about treating all the houses equally? No favoritism?"
"Every word of it," Harry replied solemnly, meeting Blaise's gaze.
After a moment the brown haired boy nodded at Harry and stepped over to the contract. He lifted the quill and signed his name. After a moment the parchment emitted a soft blue light. Blaise watched it a moment longer to confirm his acceptance, nodded once to Harry, then strode back to the Slytherin table. Bolstered by their housemate's initiative and subsequent acceptance, a couple more Slytherins rose from their seats and came forward. Among them Harry recognized Daphne Greengrass from his year. All eight remaining Slytherins signed the contract.
After they all returned to their seats, Harry addressed the room at large "Has everyone here signed the contract?" Nobody spoke up. Harry turned and picked up the piece of parchment. He held it out in front of him and quietly asked it to "Show me non-members." The Hogwarts staff members who remained in the hall all glowed red. Harry looked through the student body and noticed that none of his classmates were enveloped by the red light. "Finite," he whispered, tucking the contract into his robes.
"Excellent. Thank you all for your cooperation. Now, before I go on," Harry pulled out his wand and with a couple waves all the doors slammed closed and the strongest privacy charms he knew were placed on the large room. Students and staff members alike all shot each other questioning glances as Harry continued. "There, that's better. To start out, you will be split into two groups. Those of you who I taught last year, the former DA, will be in the intermediate class. All other members will start in the beginner class."
There were several groans from some of the older students, so Harry held up a hand to forestall the complaints. "Anyone in the lower class who I deem ready will be immediately moved to the intermediate class. But you will not move until I say you are fit, so do not even bother asking me about it beforehand. Each class will meet twice a week. The beginner class will meet Tuesday nights at 7:00 for a standard class, the intermediate Wednesday night at 7:00. On Sunday, the beginners will meet for a double class at 10:00, the intermediate at 1:00 for a double class.
"Classes will start next Tuesday," Harry informed the group. "If you are unable to attend, I expect to be notified in advance. Anyone who chooses not to attend without good reason will be permanently excused. As I said, this is a class, not some silly club, so it must be treated seriously. Anyone who does not attend a class will be expected to make it up before the next class so as not to slow the rest of the group down. For those of you in the beginners class who feel you belong in the intermediate class now, your chance to prove yourself will be Tuesday. Don't bother trying to convince me beforehand.
"Classes will be held in the Room of Requirement. It can be found on the seventh floor across from the portrait of Barnabus the Barmy. The door will only appear when a class is about to start. So do not bother trying to use the room for anything else. Do not be late to classes. You will be punished as you would be in any other class. I would prefer not to have to assign detentions or take away house points, but I will do so if necessary. I will also have more creative means of ensuring your cooperation," he finished with a grin.
"Now, I should also inform you that we will no longer be known as the DA, which stood for Dumbledore's Army. The name was created as a joke because that was what the ministry was so afraid of last year, and that's what Umbridge was sent here to prevent from happening. I thought a renaming was in order, so you will be hence named the Hogwarts Army, HA for short."
"That's everything I had to say. Does anyone have any questions?"
Hermione's hand shot into the air. "Yes, Hermione?"
"What will we be learning in your classes?" she asked him.
"An excellent question," he remarked. "The beginning class will be starting with the basics. Expelliarmus, protego, impedimenta, stupefy and the like. The basic spells used in a duel. The intermediate class will begin where we left off last year, Patronus Charms. We'll cover more advanced dueling tactics as well as stronger shields, stunners, and other spells used to incapacitate your opponent. I should warn you, the classes will not be easy. It will be almost entirely practical, and you will be put through the paces on a regular basis."
He looked around the room. "Any other questions?"
Blaise Zabini spoke up from the Slytherin table, "What if we should decide we want out?"
"You'll be welcome to leave at any time, but you will still be bound by the contract," Harry informed him and the room at large. "My goal with the contract was to prevent not only word of what we are doing from getting out, but I didn't want to teach anybody who would become an enemy. The last thing I want to do is give the enemy more tools. After Voldemort is defeated, the contract will be voided, and you will all be able to speak freely about everything."
"Anything else?"
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