Chapter - 73 : Lessons in Leadership part - 2

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Loving the story so far? There's a whole world of magic and mystery waiting for you with over 85+ chapters still to come! By supporting my Patreon.

You not only get early access to new chapters but also exclusive content, behind-the-scenes insights, and special perks just for fans like you.

Join us on this enchanted journey and help shape the future of the tale. Your support makes all the difference—discover more and become part of the adventure today!

http//patreon.com/Kun_kanshi

(P).(A).(T).(R).(E).(O).(N)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The god took a deep breath to steady his emotions, then reached out to clasp his son's shoulder. "There is no one better suited to prepare these children than you."

"So where are we meeting up with our potential students?" Harry asked that Saturday as he and his friends passed through the school gates on their first Hogsmeade visit of the year.

"The Hogs Head," Hermione responded. "That little pub we always pass on our way to the Three Broomsticks."

"Why there?" Ron asked. "Why not the Three Broomsticks?"

"Because the Three Broomsticks is too crowded and loud, it's not exactly conducive for an important meeting such as ours."

"And the Hogs Head is?" Draco snorted.

"It's not ideal," Hermione defended, "but it's the best I could come up with on such short notice."

"Don't listen to him," Blaise said, patting her shoulder lightly. "We all know Draco likes to whine."

"I do not," the blonde cried indignantly. "I express my disdain with more dignity and poise than you plebeians could ever even hope to match."

"Of course, Draco," Harry drawled. "Whatever you say."

The laughing teenagers weaved through the crowded Hogsmeade streets and made their way to the slightly less packed area where the Hogs Head resided.

The tiny pub was nothing like the bright, cheerful, and cleanThree Broomsticks they were used to; it was small and cramped, horribly dirty, and reeked of, for some odd reason, goats. The large bay windows were not capable of doing their jobs properly as they were caked with several months' worth of dirt, so the room was lit by stubby little candles that let off an eerie light. Among the few patrons in the dirty pub was a man, or at least it was assumed he was a man, wrapped from head to toe in dirty bandages, though that didn't stop him from drinking multiple glasses of what Harry surmised to be Firewhiskey through a slit in his bandages, there were also two hooded men sitting at a table beside the window, and a short stout woman in a dark veil that reached her toes.

"Are you sure that we're allowed to do this?" Ron muttered nervously.

"Yes," Hermione snapped, "I've double and triple checked the school rules. We're not out of bounds, I specifically asked Professor Flitwick whether students were allowed to come in the Hog's Head, and he said yes, but he advised me strongly to bring our own glasses. And I've looked up everything I can think of about study groups and homework groups and they're definitely allowed. I just don't think it's a good idea if we parade what we're doing."

"Especially considering the fact that when it's all said and done, homework is not what we'll be doing," Neville murmured under his breath.

As the group moved further into the pub, the barman appeared from the back, he was tall, and looked far too much like Albus Dumbledore to be a coincidence.

"What?" he grunted.

"Six butterbeers, please." Harry said.

The Dumbledore look alike reached under the counter and, one by one, slammed six bottles of butterbeer onto the bar. "Twelve sickles."

Harry paid the required amount then, after collecting their drinks, moved to a table farthest from the other patrons.

"So, how many people did you manage to rally up, Hermione?" Harry asked, prying the cap from his bottle and taking a swig from his drink.

"Oh, just a few," the girl said, nervously fiddling with her bottle cap. "I didn't have the guts to approach any of the Slytherins, but I spread the word to most of the other houses and, you know, people seemed interested."

Harry raised an eyebrow at the girl's poor attempt at avoiding answering the question. "How many are a few?"

"Um…only a couple dozen."

"A couple dozen."

"Maybe more," Hermione amended weakly.

"Bloody hell, Hermione!" Harry rubbed his face wearily. "When you said a small group of people to tutor I thought you meant a small group. Not several dozen."

"Well I'm sorry a lot of people were interested," she huffed. "I only told a few people, mostly students in fourth, fifth, and sixth, but then they started telling their friends and suddenly everyone wanted to join."

"Look on the bright side," Blaise said. "It'll only help further our plans."

"I suppose," Harry sighed, "I just hope we're all up to the challenge, adding this to an already busy year, our O.W.L. year no less, it's going to take a lot of energy. We're bound to fall behind in our studies."

"Some things are more important than school." Suddenly all of her friends were looking at her, wide eyed in astonishment. She turned dark red at the sudden attention trained on her. "What?"

"Did you just say there are things more important than school?" Ron asked "Or were my ears deceiving me?"

"Well, there are!" Hermione exclaimed. "What good will graduating from Hogwarts top of my class do if Vol-Voldemort's taken over? All of the spells and knowledge I've stuffed my mind with will be of little good if I'm dead by the hand of a Death Eater. Protecting myself and the people I love is more important than school any day."

Harry, Draco, Neville, Blaise, and Draco stared at Hermione with something akin to awe. "You know," Draco finally said, "I think Granger may have a point. I'm not saying we should ignore our studies altogether, but maybe cut back a bit and focus on things that are more important. Merlin knows that if we do it won't be detrimental to our O.W.L. scores, these two," he gestured to Hermione and Harry, "have been working us like house elves all year."

"Here here!" Ron exclaimed.

"Oh hush, Ron," Hermione said, although her attempted chastisement was ruined by her pink cheeks and the small smile on her face. "We all know the reason you're in agreement is because it means less time working on homework."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Loving the story so far? There's a whole world of magic and mystery waiting for you with over 85+ chapters still to come! By supporting my Patreon.

You not only get early access to new chapters but also exclusive content, behind-the-scenes insights, and special perks just for fans like you.

Join us on this enchanted journey and help shape the future of the tale. Your support makes all the difference—discover more and become part of the adventure today!

http//patreon.com/Kun_kanshi

(P).(A).(T).(R).(E).(O).(N)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~