I've come to realize that iluvhpsomuch1_7 is right. It was stupid to have Harry tell the others, it goes against what dumbledore told him. so in light of this ive rewritten the first part of the chapter, and given it a new title. here we go..
Harry Potter and the Army of Dumbledore
Chapter One- A Very Unwelcome Welcome
The first thing that Harry Potter noticed as he walked down the red carpeted hall of the homeward bound Hogwarts Express was the absence of a snide remark thrown his way from a compartment on his right. Glancing over his shoulder at the compartment the Slytherins usually took, he noticed that the group seemed unusually solemn without Draco Malfoy in their midst, cracking some cruel joke about the Weasley’s house or about Hermione’s heritage. Crabbe and Goyle were leaning back in their seats, staring emptily into the ceiling as if expecting Malfoy to fall through it. Pansy Parkinson was dabbing her eyes with an ornate handkerchief, and Blaise Zabini was examining his hair in a mirror, making sure that it covered one eye completely. At this, though, Harry could find no pleasure, because although Malfoy was gone for the moment, Albus Dumbledore was gone forever. No spell can reawaken the dead. Harry ruminated on these words Dumbledore himself had told Harry numerous times as he, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, and Luna looked for a compartment that would house all six of them. To no avail, Harry, Ron, and Neville decided to sit with Dean and Seamus, who had miraculously managed to convince his mother to allow him to complete his seventh and final year at Hogwarts. The girls, meanwhile, went to sit with Lavender Brown and Katie Bell, who had just finished her final year at Hogwarts and was glad to be headed home for the summer before she started looking for a job at the Ministry.
“So, how did you do it Seamus?” inquired Ron as he sat down next to Harry in the compartment. Harry laughed to himself as he saw green stains on the wall and knew that this was the cabin in which Neville’s Mimbulus Mimbletonia had erupted with Stinksap during their ride to school at the beginning of their fifth year.
“Well, it wasn’t easy, nearly had to put the Imperius Curse on her. I just told her that I would rather be at school with talented wizards and magic protecting me than at home where its only her who would stand between me and You-Know-Who,” replied Seamus. “I won’t pretend it wasn’t a struggle though, took me nearly two hours to even get me mum to listen to me. Oh well, might not matter huh, seeing as how Hogwarts might not reopen.”
Neville looked at Seamus as though he was trying to single out a single freckle on Seamus’ face. Evidently, Neville had not heard the news that Hogwarts’ reopening was currently up in the air.
“Yea, it’s a right shame,” said Dean shaking his head. “McGonagall said she left it up to the governors after the funeral. Weren’t you paying any attention Neville?”
“I don’t think any of us were Dean,” said Harry quietly. It was the first time he had spoken since boarding the train. His remark had quite ended the conversation, which was started again by Dean several minutes later.
“So, er, Harry, I happened to hear that you and Ginny, well, things didn’t work out?” he asked awkwardly. Ron sucked in air nervously and looked for Harry’s reaction, but his face remained expressionless as he looked up from the floor to Dean.
“Yeah,” he replied, and returned to look at the ground, not wishing to talk about the matter any further. He was amazed by how fast word had spread, since he had broken up with her mere hours ago at Dumbledore’s funeral. He hoped Dean would take the hint.
“Well, that’s too bad Harry, but I didn’t really think things would work out anyway, I mean, she was just coming off a long relationship with me, and well, I- OW!” Dean looked over to see who had jabbed him in the ribs and it was Seamus, who was shaking his head. Seamus pointed to Harry with his head, and Dean looked to see tears falling from Harry’s eyes and onto the red carpet of the compartment. Dean appeared to be frustrated with himself as he tried to think of something to say to Harry.
“Look, Harry, I’m sorry, it was just weird y’know? I wasn’t ready at all for our breakup and I guess I’m not over it yet, sorry…” His voice faded hopelessly into nothing as the damp spot below Harry’s head continued to grow. Ron patted Harry on the back, and Harry looked up at them.
“It’s not that,” he said quietly. He stared at each of them as if he was wondering why they weren’t crying as well. “It’s just that… Dumbledore’s gone, and he’s never coming back.” And with that, Harry buried his face in his arms as Ron continued to pat him on the back. The compartment was silent for the next half hour, at which time Harry was leaning against the seat half asleep, while Ron had quit patting Harry’s back and was now staring out the window blankly. Seamus and Dean had fallen asleep, but Neville was growing quite agitated with the gloomy mood that resided in the compartment.
“Oh, c’mon Harry! I know it’s sad that he’s gone, but crying like this isn’t going to bring him back. You and I have both experienced hard times in our lives, we’ve both lost our parents and the closest person to a parent, but sitting around feeling sorry for ourselves isn’t going to make things better. We’ve just got to, you know, bounce back and look forward.” He finished the last few words with a tone of uncertainty, as if expecting Harry to jump out of his seat and attack him. Much to his surprise, however, Harry looked up and Neville with a smile and wiped his eyes.
“You’re right, you know,” he said a little more loudly than he had been speaking before. Out of all the people to snap Harry out his horrible sadness, Neville was the last person he would have expected to deliver such a speech. “There’s no good in moping, I’ve got to prepare for my task.”
“What task?” Neville asked, and Harry remembered that he had not told Neville anything Dumbledore had been telling him all year. Despite the guilt that was splashing around in his stomach, he decided it was for the better that he not inform anyone else about the task at hand.
“It’s nothing Neville, I’m just wondering if there’s anything I can do to make sure that Hogwarts reopens,” he said, hating himself for lying to Neville. Harry knew full well that the odds of returning to Hogwarts for him were slim to none given that he had to find the final four Horcruxes.
Neville looked rather dismayed. “I wish that there was something we all could do to help persuade the governors to reopen the school. Hogwarts is like my- my home, the only place where I had any friends,” remarked Neville a little sheepishly, and Harry smiled weakly at him.
“It’s all up to the Ministry now Neville, and I dunno how much Rufus Scrimgeour likes the school since I told him that I wasn’t going to be the Ministry’s mascot,” he said glumly. Neville seemed desperate to think of a way they could prevent the closure of Hogwarts.
“What if we all stayed on the train, y’know, refused to get off? They couldn’t use magic on us, so they’d have to keep the school open!” To this, Harry shook his head.
“It’s a good idea Neville,” replied Harry untruthfully, “but it’ll never work. We’d have to come off the train sometime, and besides, not enough people would go with it. A lot of parents are worried about their kids, and they’ll most likely come on the train to escort them home.” Neville looked determined to think of a better idea.
“Well, you’re probably right Harry, but if I think of a better idea I’ll send you an owl. Gran promised she’d buy me one after the good marks I got this year,” said Neville, looking very proud of himself. Ron snorted slightly, but pretended to be asleep as he switched positions in the seat.
The trolley lady knocked on the door just then. “Anything from the trolley m’dears?” she asked. Neville reached into his pocket and pulled out a few Sickles.
“Yeah, could I please have a box of Tongue Twister Taffy? Oh, and some Sour Pixy Dust too. Thanks a lot!” he said as the lady handed him the food. Ron had woken up and was now looking at Neville quizzically.
“But Neville, I always thought you hated the, er, spicy variety of food from the trolley? You said that your head almost exploded last time you tried Sour Pixy Dust.”
Neville smiled to himself as he unwrapped the Taffy. “Yeah well, I figure this might be the last time I ride the train, so I might as well try ‘em!” he said trying to sound brave but appeared to be sweating slightly. Dean and Seamus, both with eager looking expressions, were now awake to watch Neville attempt this dangerous feat.
“On the count of three Neville!” said Dean happily as Neville prepared to take a bite of the Taffy that he had covered in Pixy Dust.
“One, two, three!” they all shouted in unison as Neville shoved the Taffy into his mouth. Harry, Ron, Dean, and Seamus all looked at him with curious faces as Neville steadily chewed the Taffy. After what seemed like minutes, Neville finally swallowed the last bit of Taffy and looked right pleased with himself.
“Hey, that wasn’t so- AHHHH!!” The rest of the boys erupted in laughter as Neville’s face turned bright red and attempted to make a stream of water come out of his wand, only to overdo the spell in his haste and cause a flood to gush forth from his wand tip, soaking the whole room and everyone in it.