Sometimes your helper
can be someone exceptionally stellar
(no clue what I'm doing halp)

It was the day of the meeting for Harry's new club to take place, and Mia felt slightly nervous. She knew she shouldn't be, but anxiety filled her gut whenever she broke the rules...or the law, in this case.

She didn't know what to expect. How many people would show up? Would it be a flop? Or maybe the club could become something really great?

Either way, there were lots of loose ends to tie up and she was almost regretting her decisions of joining.

But regardless, Mia walked on one of the back paths to the Hog's Head. She was alone and wish she weren't. There were some older men hanging around outside, looking her up and down as if she were prey.

"Hey there, shouldn't a pretty thing like yourself be at Honeydukes instead?" asked one of the men, a grim grin spreading across his stubbly face.

Mia cringed and tried walking past, keeping her head down, but he stood in her way. She gave him a nervous look and said, "Um, no, I know exactly where I'm going...so if you'll excuse me-"

"Are you old enough for a fire whiskey?" offered the man's friend, also coming over.

"I-I...um, no, I'm fifteen-"

"We've got a rebel, eh? Even better," said the man, snaking an arm around her waist. He smelled of alcohol and Mia squirmed, but he didn't let go. "Don't worry, blondie. We'll give you a good time-"

"Hey! Who the hell do you think you are?" spat a voice from behind them. They turned and saw a boy with platinum blond hair, pale skin, and steely, narrowed eyes. 

Mia gasped. "D-Draco?"

"Is this your girlfriend? You shouldn't be letting her wander around, she could get...hurt."

Draco took Mia by the wrist and pulled her out of the man's grasp, eyes full of fire. His voice was extremely threatening as spoke. "You pathetic scum, stop hitting on girls half your age. The last thing she would want would to be with pathetic, disgusting lowlifes like you-"

"Damn, sorry that she looks older than she actually is," said one of them, putting his hands up in surrender. 

"I suggest you leave, otherwise I promise my father will hear about this," growled Malfoy.

"Getting daddy to fight your battles, eh?" asked one of them with a smirk. When all he received a was a glare from the boy, he sighed before saying something quietly to his friend and they walked off, leaving Mia and Draco.

The two teenagers stood in silence for a bit before Mia spoke up. "I...you didn't have to do that."

Draco looked down at her and realized what the man was talking about. He'd never seen Mia before as anything besides an innocent, sweet, and perfectly sarcastic little Hufflepuff, but he saw it now. How she looked fierce and extremely attractive with her unique looks. Between her big electrifying blue eyes, dark brows, and hollowed cheeks, she stood out in an exotic way.

Mia didn't meet his gaze and he was grateful, as he was sure he was staring at her - although he was unsure of the reason

"So you let Benn take advantage of you and now you're moving up in the age range?" asked Draco coldly.

Finally, her eyes snapped to meet his, but instead of anger, they held embarrassment and fear. "You think I asked for that? I just want to go unnoticed-"

"Sure. Why were you even back here anyway?"

"Because I was going to the Hog's head-"

"Like hell you were. You'd be the last person to go to a pub like that," said the boy, glaring at her. "Why would you even consider going there?"

Mia hesitated, her gaze dropping to the ground. She still felt guilty for not telling Draco about the meeting. She truly believed in equality and knew that not all Slytherins were evil...and even the platinum haired boy had a good side, Harry - and many others - just had yet to see it.

Before she could answer, they heard a familiar voice call out, "Aww! You two are so cute!"

"You're so bloody annoying," mumbled Draco, eyeing Katarina with distaste. He gave one last look at Mia before strutting off.

"What was that about?"

"Nothing, Kat...let's just go in," said Mia, nodding towards the run-down pub. Her brunette friend gave a nod upon seeing Mia's saddened expression.

When they stepped inside, their eyes widened a bit at the large group of people. It neared about twenty-five, and they all sat around a table filled with butterbeers. They pulled up two chairs between Neville and Melanie. 

As Kat talked to Mel, whose cheeks were tinted with pink, Mia looked at Harry. Sympathy filled her heart as she saw his terrified expression. He looked as if he didn't expect such a turnout, and she knew how much he hated public speaking.

"Hey, everyone!" Hermione exclaimed, getting everyone's attention. The room fell silent at her high-pitched voice. "So, um...we all know why we're here...to get a proper Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Someone who's fought in real life-"

"Why?" asked Zacharias Smith. Mia resisted the urge to bang her head against the table.

"Why? Because You Know Who is back, you tosspot," growled Ron.

"I'm not a tosspot, you bloody wanker," spat Zacharias. "Just because Saint Potter says that You Know Who is back doesn't mean that-"

"Zacharias, shut your damn mouth or get the hell out. We don't need you taking out your teenage angst on someone who has enough going on in their life," said Mia coldly. All eyes were on her, surprised, as she was rarely one to speak up. He obliged, grumbling inaudibly under his breath.

"Well...he has a point," started Micheal Corner from beside Ginny. "I'm not trying to be a 'tosspot', but Potter could tell us a bit more about the night Diggory died-"

"Look, if you're here to try to get me to talk about what happened, you might as well clear out now," said Harry sharply. He whispered something to Hermione about everyone being idiots.

But before he could leave, Susan Bones asked, "I heard from my auntie you could produce a corporeal patronus...is it true?"

"Erm, yes but-"

"And he fought about a hundred dementors at once!"

"He got the sorcerous stone!"

"It's 'Sorcerer's', Neville," said Mia kindly, causing the boy to blush and mutter an apology.

"And he defeated the basilisk with Gryffindor's sword!"

"He also did all the stuff in the Triwizard tournament!"

"And Cedric even talked about how knowledgeable he was," Mia piped up, causing everyone to fall silent. She gave a small smile and looked to the raven-haired boy. "I mean, I've got to agree, Harry's pretty impressive and he's done so much...and he did defeat Voldemort last year. That's got to count for something."

Harry's eyes widened and his cheeks became tinted with pink as he tried to avoid the Hufflepuff's gaze. He cleared his throat and spoke up. "All of those things sounds great when you say them...but most of it was just having either luck or help-"

"He's just being modest-"

"No, I'm not," said Harry sharply. He took a deep breath and looked at everyone. "When this stuff happens in real life...it's not like school. You can't just make a mistake and then try again tomorrow. In real life it's different. When you're a second away from death, or you watch a friend die before your eyes...you don't know what that's like."

The silence in the room was heavy as everyone processed the realness of his words. Hermione spoke up. "You're right, Harry, we don't know what it's like. That's why we need your help if we're to have any chance of defeating...Voldemort."

"Who is back, if you didn't realize," Mia clarified. She turned to look at Harry, giving a smile. "Care to tell us where the sign-up sheet is?"

~._.~

The next day, Mia sat in the library with Neville, working on Herbology homework. The two got along quite well, especially with their similar interests in certain studies. Many saw Mia being friends with the clumsy boy as a good deed when, in reality, it was enjoyable for her.

She was about to talk about Fanged Geranium and its uses until she saw Hannah Abbot coming towards them, her expression slightly worried. "Hey Hannah."

"Um, hi Mia...Professor Sprout wants to talk to you...I think it might be about the...well..."

"Dumbledore's Army?" whispered Neville, instantly getting shushed by Hannah.

Her cheeks became tinted with pink as she spoke. "Keep quiet! If we get found out, we could be in so much trouble!"

"I'll take care of it, don't worry," Mia assured them with a forced smile. She bid the two goodbye before heading off. Her heart hammered in her chest from fear. 

Did Sprout find out? How would she react? She doubted the woman would punish them too harshly...but she couldn't be sure.

Her mind raced with possible outcomes as she trudged towards the greenhouse, where Sprout was merrily potting some plants, humming to herself.

"Um...Professor? You wanted to see me?" asked Mia cautiously. 

The woman turned to face her, giving a smile. "Yes, I did. I wanted to ask how the Hogsmeade trip went yesterday?"

"Uh...fine..." she lied.

"Mr. Malfoy stood up for you, I heard."

"W-what-"

"Miss Hicks told me," said Sprout simply. "Said you two were 'so cute'. I was wondering if you two are...involved?"

"No! Never, nope. That could never work, a-and I-"

"Okay sweetheart, I get it, I'm just pulling your leg," she said with a chuckle. "I must ask, though, was Malfoy included in the meeting a the Hog's Head yesterday?"

Mia's eyes widened at this. "I don't know what your-"

"One of our house traits is honesty. Miss Smith, I know you keep many things quiet about yourself, but if I ask a question, you're not to lie to me."

She gave a sigh and hung her head. "No...he wasn't there...Professor, what we're doing isn't bad, I promise-"

"Actually, what you're doing is illegal and you could be in big trouble with the Ministry," said the woman smugly. "But...that doesn't mean I agree with the Ministry. What was the meeting about?"

"Making a club for learning defensive magic. That's all, I promise."

"What all have you figured out?"

"Well," Mia began, "the leader is Harry. The name is Dumbledore's Army. We'll have meetings once a week. And...well...that's it. There was a sign-up sheet too. Most Hufflepuffs in fifth year are in it except for Zacharias."

"Dumbledore's Army...I like it. Does he know about this?" asked Sprout.

"Probably, even though we didn't tell him."

"Did you come up with a place to meet?" Mia shook her head at this and Sprout sighed. "Mia...I know you have Helga's journal...maybe you could look there for an answer?"

The blonde looked at her in confusion. "What do you-"

"You should get back to your studies. If anyone asks, I talked to you about future lesson plans."

Mia arched an eyebrow. "I thought we were the house of honesty?" 

Sprout smirked and said, "Well, it's not quite a lie, right? I'll see you later, Miss Smith."

"Bye Professor," said Mia before leaving the greenhouse. She almost sprinted to the Hufflepuff dorms as she thought about the journal. 

Ah yes, Helga Hufflepuff's journal. It was a small, tattered book that had true entries from the beloved founder. From a normal glance, it had some basic entries, such as her early life and what it was like building Hogwarts, but there was something special about it. There were a few pages in the back that showed something that correlated to what the reader needed/desired most.

It was hidden among the shelves of the special library in the Hufflepuff basement and had only been found by few, including Mia. She remembered going through the whole room one day the previous year, fascinated at the student-made library. She came across the old diary and was ecstatic when she found out who it belonged to.

As she entered the common room and ran up to her dorm, her mind raced with possibilities. How could Helga help? She opened her bag and pulled out the book, flipping to the blank pages in the back. She thought hard about how badly she wanted to rebel, how badly she wished for students to get an education.

The formerly blank pages had ink spreading out on them into words and diagrams. Mia gasped.

In big, bold letters on the top of the page, it said, "The Room Of Requirement".

~._.~

Hey, hope you enjoyed. Sorry for the late-ness and the fact it's filler and sorta lacked Draco.

I don't really have much to say..uhh...I'll try to get a chapter out next week but I've got no clue what the next chapter should be, help! I forgot the timeline of the OoTP.

Question of the chapter,
~Favorite place in Hogsmeade?~
(Um, I actually went to the WWoHP and I really liked Three Broomsticks and Honeydukes)

Thanks for reading, pls vote, comment, and follow,

Love to all,
~Lumos