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Silence took over in the Room of Requirement as the five stared at the wall.

It was a day before the Christmas break and the day they had set on their coins for the first meeting to bring back Dumbledore's army. They were nervously waiting for the others to come. Word was spread throughout Hogwarts, but it was a good thing that no one approached them because they knew that it was dangerous to do so. They couldn't risk revealing their identities and give the Carrows another reason to torture them.

Thankfully, the Carrows had no way of proving that it was Jemina and Ginny who sprayed that even if they insisted it was them. It was odd that Snape was asking for proof that they did it when the Carrows reported it to him. He just cleaned it up with a wave of his wand and left it at that.

"Is anyone even coming?" Noah frowned from where he was sitting. "It's already 10 minutes past 9."

"Let's just wait for a little more." Neville said in an optimistic tone though he too was worried that nobody would take the risk to join them. After all, they couldn't build up an army with only five people. And the next moments passed with the five still waiting and losing hope with every second that passed. Maybe, they wouldn't be able to fight back after all... Maybe, it really was just them that were still fighting for Harry, Deanna, and all of those who were against Voldemort.

"You know what, maybe we should go. It's getting late, and – "

Neville's words were cut off by the familiar sound of the Room of Requirement appearing. In their surprise, they shared wide-eyed glances before standing up and readying their wands. They had no idea who was coming so they needed to be ready for what was to come... They stuck together, waiting for the door to open and reveal who was there.

"We're here."

The five leaders of Dumbledore's Army sighed in relief and grinned when they saw Seamus come in with Ernie, Justin, Susan, and Hannah. Someone came. The fire wasn't out after all. It was still burning, and the hope was firing up again when more members slowly filed into the room in groups. By the time the clock struck half past 9, they counted a total of 28 members from various years and houses.

Jemina had tried to invite Pansy, Theo, Daphne, and Blaise who she knew were friends with Deanna, but they declined, saying it would be better not to have any Slytherins in their group since they were associated with the Death Eaters. But the four reassured her that they would keep their mouths shut about the group and help if ever they need it.

"So..." Neville started off nervously when everyone had settled in. He was voted to stand as the leader by Jemina, Ginny, Noah, and Luna and although he was extremely nervous, he still did what he needed to do. "As you know, the Death Eaters had taken over Hogwarts, and Nose White, You-Know-Who, is actively pursuing Deanna and Harry. We don't have them or Dumbledore to protect us anymore. I understand if some of you won't want to continue. It's scary. I'm scared, we all are scared. But I don't want to just surrender to them. If I fall, at least I fought. I would have no regrets if that happened. Like we did against Umbridge then, it's time for us to fight again. Dumbledore's Army is back."

Everyone cheered and clapped at Neville's speech, and he turned to his friends and smiled back when he saw their hearty grins. That went better than they expected. Everyone jotted down their names on the paper which was hexed with the same hex Hermione used to find out whoever would snitch on them.

"So, this was just a welcome back meeting. If it's alright with you guys, we'll start having the lessons again like before." Neville continued with a smile. "We may not be as good as Harry, but we'll be trying our best. Well, I guess that's it for today. Merry Christmas to everyone!"

All of them exchanged greetings and bid goodbye, and soon, only the five were left. They grinned at each other for a moment before they started cheering and yelling, finally letting out the happiness they had been holding in. They hugged each other tightly and jumped while cheering their team name that Luna made. They were unsure of it at first, but they soon liked the name after Luna explained what it meant. If Voldemort was Nose White, then they were the...

"Let's go, Nosebusters!"

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"Good night."

"Merry Christmas."

The five students greeted each other a good night and a Merry Christmas since they were going to their respective homes tomorrow. Well, Jemina was going to Hog's Head since that was the only place she could go to. It was not safe to stay at Hogwarts. Who knows what could happen to them if they stayed there for the break?

"Hey, Jem." Ginny called out to her when Jemina was about to go towards her common room with Noah. She looked back at Ginny with a smile on her face, anticipating what Ginny wanted to say.

Noah cleared his throat with a knowing smile. "Well, I think I need to pack. Don't you need to as well, Nev, Lu?"

Thankfully, Neville and Luna weren't oblivious (unlike a certain redhead and a boy with a lightning bolt scar) and nodded right away.

"Yeah, we need to go too."

"Good night, you two. Enjoy!"

Jemina and Ginny blushed once they were left alone, and somehow, they were reminded of that night in the broom closet. The moment they almost...

"U-Uh, so what is it, Gin?" Jemina smiled, trying to keep herself calm though her heart was being abnormally fast.

"I just wanted to give you this." Ginny took out the package from her bag and gave it to the shocked Jemina with a soft smile on her face. "Merry Christmas, Jem."

"Y-You didn't have to get me anything." Jemina mumbled softly while the tips of her ears went red. Ginny grinned at that, knowing Jemina was extremely flustered at the moment. She was glad that she was able to make Jemina feel like that – She meant... She liked that Jemina felt like that for her. No, Jemina looked absolutely adorable like that. Her mind was in chaos right now, but she kept the smile on her face, hoping it was not obvious how she was feeling so conflicted right now.

"I wanted to, Jem." Ginny took Jemina's hand in hers and squeezed her hand.

Jemina smiled back at her before remembering something and taking out a gift from her back. Now, Ginny was the flustered one, her face as red as her hair. The Hufflepuff held Ginny's hands and placed the gift in them. Her smile, her hold on Ginny and her soft voice just made Ginny's heart feel like a Quaffle passing the Quidditch Hoops.

"Merry Christmas, Gin. Have a good one."

Ginny wasn't certain about what exactly did she feel for Jemina, but she just knew. She was feeling something for her new friend. And she liked it. This feeling, whatever it was, that she had for Jemina.

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Jemina smiled while she knitted with the new knitting needles Ginny got for her. Her initials J.I.N. were engraved onto the needles, and she knew this was now her favorite pair of knitting needles.

"You're knitting again?" Aberforth asked while he placed a cup of orange juice and a plate of bacon and eggs in front of Jemina.

"Oh, stop that, Ab. I'm enjoying watching her knit." Ariana scolded him from her portrait, making Aberforth grumble before he started eating his own food. Actually, he and Ariana were both glad to see her smiling since she had been gloomy for the past few days.

She missed her family. It was the first Christmas without them, and she couldn't help but remember how they would be baking pies and knitting new sweaters and mittens by this time. She missed them so much, but there was nothing she could do. They were in another world now, and hopefully, they were at peace and happy there.

Seeing how a sad smile painted Jemina's face, Ariana sent a signal to Aberforth with her eyes, telling her to say something or comfort her. Aberforth's eyes widened, and he shook his head. It was not that he didn't want to, but he just had no idea how he should comfort her. Ariana sent him another glare, and Aberforth knew he had no choice but to do as his sister asked.

"Kid."

Aberforth's sudden call made Jemina look up from the new sweater she was knitting, looking up at Aberforth with confused eyes. The old man cleared his throat and looked away for a moment to compose himself before staring back at Jemina.

"Well... I'm really sorry about your family." Aberforth finally said. "It must have been hard for you. But thank you for staying strong and fighting for my niece. She's proud of you. She always says you've grown so well so... yes. You mean a lot to my Little Ari. So, if you feel down and think that you have no one to turn to, you have us. We may be a dysfunctional family. A portrait, a goat lover and a girl who came back from the dead, but we'll be here until the end. I can assure you of that."

Jemina's eyes softened at Aberforth's words, and she smiled widely at him and Ariana, willing her tears down so she doesn't cry. Perhaps, she lost her family, but she gained another in the Dumbledores. They were now 4 in this dysfunctional family of theirs, adding a scarred Muggleborn into the group.

But hey, that was them. And as they said, they'll be there for each other until the end.

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