"All right, that's it for this gathering. Do you have any other questions?"
In the Defense Association's Training room, Albert had just put away his wand after finishing the lesson. He looked around at the still slightly excited crowd and nodded in satisfaction.
They were excited and passionate; that was what gave them the drive to improve.
Come to think of it, the Defense Association had quietly grown stronger. Its membership had exceeded forty, far more than he had expected.
"When do we start fighting back?" someone raised a hand and asked.
Albert followed the voice and found that it was Hannah Abbott from Hufflepuff.
The girl had recently been helping manage the students at the shelter and had been doing a fine job. After giving it much thought, Cedric decided she should receive more formal Defense Against the Dark Arts training, so he recommended that Albert let her practice with everyone else. Hannah was an adult now anyway, free from the trouble of the Trace, and she had passed her Apparition test.
"Many people think someone ought to step forward and lead everyone in resisting The Dark Lord."
Quite a few members chimed in, making their meaning clear.
One victory after another had filled most of the Defense Association members with confidence. They could hardly wait to show what they could do.
"And then?"
Albert asked expressionlessly, "Get targeted by Death Eaters and suffer betrayal?"
The moment those words left his mouth, the room fell completely silent before erupting into an uproar.
Whispers filled the air. Everyone stared at Albert in shock, clearly unable to understand why he would say such a thing.
"I have to tell you something very cruel."
Albert raised a hand for silence. Only after the surrounding noise gradually died down did he continue, "Don't