October quickly walked by, followed by cold weather. It was finally their trip to Hogsmeade in November. Everyone was wearing coats and scarves. It only took them about ten minutes to get there, mostly because Hogsmeade was near the school. Amelia was wearing beige fur boots with a matching fur coat and a white skirt. Her short hair was flowing behind her because of the immense wind. Isabell was wearing a light ultramarine beanie with a white pom-pom, as though it were blue ice cream with a white cherry on top. In addition, Isabell was covered in a matching blue jacket that reached just above her knees and white leggings. Olivia, on the other hand, was dressed in red. A red coat, beanie and boots. She was so cold that she put a scarf around her nose and mouth, so that only the top of her head was visible to everyone. Albert was wearing a casual black leather jacket with black gloves. They walked together in between the shops of Hogsmeade. The snow was supposed to be falling during December, but it had come slightly earlier this year. There were many shops, including: Zonko’s Joke Shop, a famous shop that sold joke products. Honeydukes, which served candy to students and would always be crowded. The Shrieking Shack, an infamous and the most frightening building in Britain. The villagers of Hogsmeade had thought it was haunted, but they didn't know it was actually the werewolf Remus Lupin, The trio and Albert’s third year teacher of Defence Against the Dark Arts, making the scary noises (it was where he went to transform into his werewolf self). Madam Pudifoot’s Tea Shop, where couples would usually go in. 

‘The haunt of happy couples,’ Isabell had once said when they passed the pink shop.

There were small shops that also sold quills and parchment for educational purposes. Isabell noticed a change, Hog’s Head was unusually crowded with at least thirty students. She went in, followed by Olivia, Albert and Amelia. They found Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger standing in front of Hogwarts students from different houses and years. Harry was about to start a speech, but paused when he saw the trio and Albert. 

‘Those were the ones who I forgot to invite,’ Hermione said, smacking her head with her hand. 

‘What’s this?’ Isabell asked Hermione, looking around. 

It was now clear when Harry began his speech. 

‘So… we all know that Umbridge has banned us from defending ourselves from what’s out there. Well, it’s time that we do something about it. The interference that the Ministry has done is basically ruining our education.’

‘Harry, I need to do something,’ Hermione spoke after he finished talking. ‘I-I think everybody should write their name down, just so we know who was here. But I also think, that we all ought to agree not to shout about what we're doing. So if you sign, you're agreeing not to tell Umbridge- or anybody else- what we're up to.’

The people in Hog’s Head started forming a line. The trio and Albert were first. They wrote their names on the parchment placed in front of Hermione, Harry and Ron: 

Amelia Clearwater

Isabell Bluesky

Olivia Dragonheart

Albert Foxglove

The people after the trio and Albert quickly wrote their names on the parchment, so that there were exactly twenty eight names on it. 

‘Now, continuing with the-’ Harry began. 

‘What happened on the night Cedric Diggory died?’ a voice interrupted. 

It was Zachrias Smith, a Hufflepuff student. The trio and Albert had heard negative comments about Zacharias. He was known to be obnoxious, condescending, pessimistic, and a hypocritical ingrate. Harry didn’t know how to reply. 

‘Zacharias, you are wasting your time! You’re only here to know all about Cedric’s death!’ Amelia said, glaring at Zacharias. 

Zacharias looked at Amelia with a disgusted look then looked at Harry. It wasn’t only Zacharias who was eager to know about Cedric’s death. Some student’s faces changed from interested to eager when Smith mentioned Cedric’s name. Cho Chang was there, with straight black hair tied as a ponytail. She used to be with Cedric during their fourth year and knew what he went through. She looked at Harry, who looked back. He shook his head then started speaking. 

‘I’m not here to talk about Cedric, so if you’re here to do that then you may leave!’ Harry said furiously, trying not to look at everybody, especially Cho. 

‘C’mon, Harry!’ Zacharias begged, as though he would trade his own soul to know how Cedric Diggory died.

‘If you’re here to talk about Cedric, then leave!’ Hermione yelled.

Zacharias didn’t move, and neither did the other people who were eager to hear about Cedric’s death. Harry decided to spit it all out: 

‘Peter Pettigrew - Wormtail - killed Cedric, then brought back Voldemort… that’s all…’

People, such as Isabell, Ron and Zacharias, flinched when Harry said Voldmort.

‘So You-Know-Who really is back?’ some people asked. 

Harry nodded lightly. 

‘Moving on…’ Ron said, looking at Harry. 

‘Right. Umbridge banned us from using magic. It’s time we teach ourselves how to defend ourselves.’ 

‘And Harry will be the teacher,’ Hermione continued. 

Harry looked at her, clearly not having decided over who would teach them. Harry looked at Albert, who looked back at him.

‘F-fine.’ 

‘So, it’s settled, then!’

‘No, not all of it,’ Olivia said. 

Harry, Ron and Hermione looked at her. 

‘Where are we going to learn? It must be a place Umbridge can’t know of and can’t enter.’ 

‘Shrieking Shack?’

‘No, our cover would sooner or later blow up,’ Harry said, disagreeing with the suggestion. 

Isabell gasped. Everyone set their eyes on her. 

‘The Room of Requirement! Not everybody knows about it. I bet you Umbridge didn't know anything about it when she attended Hogwarts!’

‘Perfect!’ Hermione exclaimed. 

There were several murmurs of agreement or nods. 

‘How will we tell everybody when the first lesson will be?’ Amelia asked. 

‘Olivia and I will develop something, if she has time to work with me,’ Hermione said as she looked at Olivia, who nodded quickly. ‘Let’s say the next meeting will be… Harry, do you know when the first Quidditch match will begin?’ 

Hermione glared at Harry, who simply replied: 

‘Twenty seventh of November, Wednesday. Ravenclaw versus Slytherin’ 

‘So, it obviously can’t be at that time. Let’s say, the upcoming Monday.’

Everyone nodded in understanding.

‘So, that’s it! See you all on Monday!’ Hermione said nervously.

Everyone started to walk away, amused with the idea of starting a private group with the students to teach them defence. 

‘Wait!’ Amelia said, making everyone stop dead in their tracks. ‘What’s the name of this group?’

Everyone looked at Harry.

‘We’ll think of it in our first meeting.’