About ten minutes later, Aberforth brought up bottles of Butterbeer.
While handing one to Hermione, he asked quietly, "What's all this about? Planning a wizarding war?"
"We just want to improve ourselves." Hermione smiled at him and accepted the beer.
Hermione had agreed to Harry's invitation for two reasons: firstly, to help her classmates, and secondly, as she'd said, to improve herself.
While teaching others, she could also identify her own weaknesses.
"Cheers!" George shouted loudly, and everyone raised their glasses, chanting:
"To Potter!"
The gathering turned into a feast, with students clustering in small groups to chat, their Butterbeers gradually being replaced with alcoholic drinks.
"Harry! Has You-Know-Who really returned?" a Ravenclaw boy suddenly asked.
Marietta shrieked, Terry Boot twitched, and many others reacted strongly before looking eagerly at Harry.
"Yes, he has returned," Harry said firmly, looking directly at the boy who had asked. "It doesn't matter if you don't believe me. I didn't form this group to fight against anything, just to let everyone learn useful things."
"In case, just in case we encounter any danger, we should at least have the ability to resist."
Everyone fell silent. Harry's words were very reasonable - those who had come here all had some pursuit of Defence Against the Dark Arts.
Regardless of the situation, learning more could never be a bad thing.
"So, when do we start our first meeting? And where?" Colin asked.
"Do we need to report it to Umbridge?" This came from a Hufflepuff badger, and after he spoke, a group of people looked at him with expressions of pity for the intellectually challenged.
"We're supposed to be avoiding her and meeting secretly," Cedric said, facepalming. "If you report it, wouldn't that be walking right into a trap?"
The badger scratched his head sheepishly. "Forget I said anything. But since it's a secret meeting, we need a safe place, right?"
"I'll guarantee that," Harry said. "We need to decide on the meeting time first. As for the location, I'll tell you all later."
Students from three different houses had different schedules - some had other club activities to attend, and even Harry himself had Gryffindor team training.
Finding a time that suited everyone wasn't easy.
After some discussion, the first meeting was scheduled for Wednesday at eight in the evening, with Angelina moving the Quidditch practice forward by an hour.
...
Outside, Zacharias Smith, thoroughly frozen, had obtained the crucial information and left full of excitement.
He didn't linger in Hogsmeade, but ran all the way back to Hogwarts and found Umbridge.
"Professor, I have an important discovery!" Smith panted. Umbridge was initially indifferent, but as she listened, her expression gradually grew serious, then angry.
"Mr Smith, is everything you're saying true?"
"It's all true, I was hiding outside the Hog's Head," Smith nodded repeatedly. "And I saw Dumbledore!"
"What?" Umbridge exclaimed.
"I'm certain. He disguised himself as a pub owner. Potter and Cedric took the lead, and all the students attending the gathering were recruited by them."
Umbridge sprang to her feet and began pacing back and forth in her office.
"Diggory, Bones, Longbottom, Macmillan, Abbott..." she repeated these names.
Every single one could be matched with someone at the Ministry of Magic. The more she thought about it, the more alarmed she became.
There were members of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, as well as mainstays of the Ministry - all gathered under Dumbledore's banner, forming a force that couldn't be ignored.
"Are they learning Defence Against the Dark Arts?"
"They're planning to storm the Ministry!" Umbridge slammed the table with a bang, startling Smith.
"Professor, you should arrest them immediately."
"No, I'm no match for Dumbledore alone." Umbridge decisively shook her head - she wouldn't be so reckless.
Looking at Smith, the toad-like woman revealed a faint smile. "Mr Smith, you've done very well."
"I have a task for you. On Wednesday, follow them discreetly and find out where they're meeting."
Smith swallowed hard. "Professor, by myself?"
"Don't worry, I'm not asking you to charge in. Just locate the place, and I'll bring the Ministry's Aurors there."
"If we're going to make arrests, we need to catch them in the act. We can't give Dumbledore any chance to deny it."
Umbridge tempted him: "Complete this task, and I'll not only make you a Prefect but also ensure you become Head Boy later. Your father will get a promotion too."
Smith immediately cast aside all concerns about risk and agreed ecstatically.
After all, he'd long wanted revenge on those little badgers who had isolated him. Ever since his falling out with Lawrence, he'd become practically invisible in Hufflepuff, with no one willing to acknowledge him.
Years of accumulated resentment had completely clouded Smith's judgment.
After dismissing Smith, Umbridge immediately contacted Fudge, informed him of the situation, and requested Auror support for that day.
Soon, Fudge received the message and was overjoyed.
His current objective was clear: ensure Dumbledore fell from grace before he did, and ruin his reputation.
He never expected that Umbridge, whom he'd thrown out as a scapegoat, could make such a significant discovery.
He didn't care about the truth - as long as he could extract even the slightest bit of information damaging to Dumbledore from those young wizards' mouths, he could turn it into ironclad evidence!
...
Several calm days passed quickly, and before they knew it, Wednesday had arrived.
That day, Smith went about his classes as usual, showing no unusual behaviour. After classes ended, he returned to the common room, pretending to do homework while actually keeping close watch on Cedric and the others' movements.
The time soon reached seven fifty.
Over twenty little badgers left the classroom one after another. Smith followed at a distance, watching them go up to the sixth floor and 'seeing with his own eyes' as they entered the abandoned classroom.
Only after seeing students from other houses enter as well did he confirm this was the place where Harry and the others had agreed to meet. He hurried off to the fourth floor to report.
...
In the abandoned classroom, Harry had already paired people up to face each other.
"Practice for a while first. Wayne should be here in about half an hour."
"What are we going to learn?" Ginny asked.
"Let's start with the most basic Disarming Charm," Harry said, moving to stand opposite Neville. Without uttering an incantation, he casually flicked his wand, and Neville's wand flew from his grasp.
"Whoa, non-verbal instant casting," George chimed in supportively, making everyone realise just how difficult Harry's move had been.
"That's truly impressive," Cedric agreed with a nod. "Harry, your Expelliarmus is remarkable."
Harry felt uncomfortable with such praise and quickly changed the subject, sharing some of his own tips and techniques.
Soon, the room echoed with shouts of "Expelliarmus!" as wands flew everywhere and sparks scattered in all directions.
Many used the spell clumsily, completely failing to disarm their opponents, only managing to make them stumble back a couple of steps.
...
Meanwhile, Smith had already found Umbridge.
After waiting a few minutes, Fudge arrived through the fireplace with five Aurors and Percy, entering the office.
"Where are they?" Fudge asked directly, wasting no time.
"Minister, they're on the sixth floor," Umbridge said obsequiously as she opened the door. "Today's their first meeting. I heard Lawrence will be there too, we..."
Fudge paused mid-step. "You said Lawrence?"
"Yes," Smith interjected. "But Lawrence hadn't arrived yet when I left. Should we wait?"
Fudge glared at him and pointed, signalling for him to lead the way.
Wait? Like hell they would wait.
He was here to deal with Dumbledore. If Wayne showed up, that would just mean trouble for himself.
The group quickly reached the door.
Percy, eager to prove himself, loudly cast a spell at the locked door: "Alohomora!"
A powerful shockwave sent him flying, leaving him pinned to the opposite wall.
"Minister, there's very powerful magic on this door," Kingsley said, inwardly frantic but maintaining outward calm. He'd sent word before this mission, though he didn't know if Dumbledore had received it.
"Don't just stand there! Open it!" Fudge ordered angrily.
Several Aurors began attacking the door together. The tremendous noise travelled into the room, causing widespread panic.
"Someone betrayed us!"
"We're done for! Umbridge has found us!"
"I heard someone say 'Minister' - is that Cornelius Fudge?"
The young wizards panicked, rushing toward the door to open it.
Just then, a burst of flames erupted in the air as Ho-Oh emerged from the fire, Wayne's voice coming from its beak: "Stay where you are. I'll handle this."
"Wayne's here!"
"Thank goodness! Why were we caught during our very first meeting?"
"There's a traitor among us!"
Cedric quickly counted heads and called out, "Everyone, don't start suspecting each other! We're all accounted for. If someone had betrayed us, they'd be too guilty to show up."
This helped calm everyone down.
"Hermione, I'll leave this to you," Wayne instructed before Ho-Oh transformed back into flames and vanished.
Outside, several Aurors took turns casting spells at the door, only to be thrown back like Percy, grimacing in pain.
"Attack together! Blast through the wall!" Fudge commanded furiously.
Everyone raised their wands, aiming at the wall.
Then a deep voice spoke: "Fudge, are you trying to demolish Hogwarts?"
At the corner, Dumbledore's tall figure appeared, striding calmly towards the group.
"You've arrived just in time, Dumbledore," Umbridge said with a triumphant smile, pointing at the door. "Guess what we've discovered?"
"A group of students defying the Inquisitor's orders, holding secret meetings with the intention of rebelling against the Ministry of Magic..."
"It's not them who are rebelling against the Ministry - it's me," Dumbledore said softly.
Fudge and Umbridge's eyes widened as if they couldn't believe what they were hearing.
"You admit it?"
"Of course," Dumbledore said with a smile. "Rather unfortunate luck, getting caught with an informant at our very first meeting."
He glanced at Smith, who fearfully hid behind Fudge.
"You're plotting against me? Conspiring to rebel?!" Fudge spluttered.
"Indeed," Dumbledore said cheerfully.
"Excellent, excellent," Fudge trembled with excitement. "Weasley, have you recorded all that? He admitted it himself."
"Is there anything else you'd like me to add? I could list more ways I oppose you," Dumbledore smiled.
"That's quite enough." Fudge's face grew increasingly red. "Dawlish, Shacklebolt - take Dumbledore to Azkaban to await trial for conspiracy and sedition."
Dumbledore simply tilted his head and listened until several men stepped forward, then raised a single finger:
"Ah, I believe we've encountered a minor complication."
"What?" Fudge didn't understand.
"You seem to be under the impression that I would... how does the phrase go? Come quietly?"
Fudge jerked as if struck, stumbling backwards while shouting frantically: "Seize him! He's resisting!"
Kingsley had no choice but to move against Dumbledore, using his eyes to signal for Dumbledore to go easy on him.
Unfortunately, the old headmaster had other plans.
'Sorry, Kingsley, if I go easy on you, wouldn't that clearly tell Fudge you're connected to me?'
'So I'm afraid you'll have to take this beating.'
Truth be told, Dumbledore was feeling rather frustrated himself.
He knew perfectly well that for the situation to have developed this far, there must be an invisible hand manipulating events behind the scenes.
Dumbledore was certain that Wayne had played a significant role in this.
He had indeed asked Wayne to cooperate in getting him expelled from Hogwarts.
But he never expected... in just one week, Wayne would have accomplished it.
Why are you so skilled at this!?
Driven by his frustration, Dumbledore struck first!