Dumbledore's Army

"Every great wizard in history has started out as nothing more than what we are now: students. If they can do it, why not us?"

- Harry Potter

Dumbledore's Army, also known as the D.A., was a secret organisation initiated by Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley to teach their fellow Hogwarts students proper Defence Against the Dark Arts. This organisation was made necessary by the refusal of Dolores Umbridge, the subject's professor during the 1995-1996 school year, to teach anything in her classes other than textbook theory.

Dumbledore's Army played a vital role during the Second Wizarding War, and members of the organisation fought in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, the Battle of the Astronomy Tower, and the Battle of Hogwarts.

Formation
Shortly after their first Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson during their fifth year, it soon became clear to Harry, Ron and Hermione that practical defensive magic would not be taught in the class. Instead, a Ministry approved course of theory, under the stewardship of Dolores Umbridge, would be taught. Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge was afraid that Albus Dumbledore would use these lessons to train an army of Wizards to oppose him and try to take over the Ministry since he refused to believe that Lord Voldemort had returned.

Concerned that they needed defensive magical skills to combat Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters, Hermione proposed the formation of a practical study group to be taught by Harry. Since he had more experience than any of them with using actual defensive and offensive magic following his encounters with Lord Voldemort,  Hermione believed that he would be the perfect instructor. Harry was initially reluctant, but after two weeks of having to deal with Umbridge, and her appointment as the first Hogwarts High Inquisitor, finally agreed. Hermione arranged a meeting in the Hog's Head during the first Hogsmeade visit of the school year for anyone who wanted to learn, although Harry was skeptical that anyone would turn up. Since the Daily Prophet smear campaign against him, many of the students considered him to either be a liar or a nutter.

In the Hog's Head, Harry was surprised to see a large amount of students from Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw turn up, although he harboured the suspicion that a few, such as Zacharias Smith, only wanted to hear about the night Cedric Diggory was killed. After some initial skepticism, Harry's friends started to list his achievements - the rescue of the Philosopher's Stone, defeating the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets, driving off Dementors, and dueling Lord Voldemort himself.

The need for secrecy would be vital - if Umbridge found out about them, they would surely be shut down and punished. Each student then signed a special piece of parchment to show their commitment. Unknown to any of them, Hermione had bewitched the parchment to include a curse. If any student should betray the DA, then the word "Sneak" would be written across their face in spots. The meeting broke up, and sessions were to begin once a location had been found to train in.

Unbeknown to any of the DA, they were being watched. Mundungus Fletcher, disguised as a witch with a thick black veil, was keeping an eye on Harry for the Order, while Willy Widdershins informed Umbridge of the meeting in a plea-bargain to avoid punishment for a series of Regurgitating Toilet incidents. Umbridge used the information to implement Education Decree Number Twenty-Four, which banned all student organisations that were not approved of by the High Inquisitor.

Initially, Ron thought that a student at the meeting had betrayed them, until Hermione pointed out that if they had, she would have known about it due to the curse on the parchment that they all signed. Despite the ban, Harry assured all the members that the meetings would go ahead once an ideal location was found. They would just need to be careful. Eventually, Harry was told about the Room of Requirement by the House-elf Dobby, who occasionally used it to store the drunken House-elf Winky in. After showing how to summon the Room to Harry, Hermione and Ron, the DA convened for their first practice session.

Training
During the first session, Ginny Weasley gave the group their formal name - "Dumbledore's Army". Harry started them off slowly, practicing the Disarming Charm. When Zacharias Smith scoffed at its simplicity and wondered about its effectiveness, Harry responded that it was the spell that saved him from Lord Voldemort in the Little Hangleton Graveyard. Aware that arranging meetings and passing the word about them verbally was not a secure method of communication, Hermione bewitched several coins with a Protean Charm, one for each member of the DA. When activated by Hermione, the numbers on each coin would change to inform the bearer of the time and date of the next meeting. The class progressed at a fair rate, practicing the Impediment Jinx and Stunning Spell before temporarily breaking up for the Christmas period.

Lessons continued during the early months of 1996, and the mass breakout of imprisoned Death Eaters from Azkaban spurred them on to greater efforts, particularly Neville Longbottom. The class mastered the Shield Charm, and began to work on the Patronus Charm. The class also welcomed a new member, Seamus Finnigan. Despite being a Gryffindor in the same year as Harry, the two boys had argued when Harry insulted Seamus' mother for believing the Daily Prophet's version of events. However, with the publication of an interview in The Quibbler, many, including Seamus and his mother, came to see the holes in the Ministry's stories, and started to back Harry.

Discovery
Shortly before Easter, one member of the DA, Marietta Edgecombe, betrayed them to Umbridge. She was a reluctant member of the DA, having been brought to the meetings by her friend, Cho Chang. Her mother worked in the Floo Network Office and was helping Umbridge to monitor the Floo Network at Hogwarts. Afraid that her mother's job was in jeopardy, she revealed the location of the DA's meetings to Umbridge. Immediately, the curse that Hermione had placed on the parchment that each member of the DA had signed activated, writing the word "sneak" across her face in spots.

Dobby learned of this turn of events, and rushed to the Room of Requirement to warn Harry and the DA. Most members escaped, but some, including Harry, were caught by Umbridge and Slytherin students, many of whom would go on to be members of the Inquisitorial Squad. A search of the room uncovered the parchment that each member of the DA had signed, entitled "Dumbledore's Army". Finally having "proof" that Dumbledore was building an army to challenge the Ministry, Umbridge immediately contacted Cornelius Fudge.

During a confrontation with Fudge and Umbridge, Albus Dumbledore took full responsibility for the creation of Dumbledore's Army to shield Harry and the students from the Ministry's wrath. Kingsley Shacklebolt, an Auror and member of the Order of the Phoenix, used a Memory Charm on Marietta to make her version of events tally with Dumbledore's. His "confession" led to Fudge attempting to arrest him. Dumbledore escaped, but Umbridge was installed as the Headmistress of Hogwarts.

Disruption of authority
"Give her hell from us, Peeves!"

- Fred Weasley prior to escaping Hogwarts

Despite having effectively disbanded the DA, members of the group, especially Fred and George Weasley rebelled against the new authority at the school, releasing enchanted fireworks throughout the school, and turning one of the corridors into a swamp. During a disruption designed to create a diversion to allow Harry access to the fireplace in Umbridge's office, the twins were cornered by Umbridge and members of the Inquisitorial Squad. In a final act of defiance, the twins summoned their brooms and left the school behind to pursue a career in their joke shop. In the aftermath of Fred and George's departure, the student body took up their mantle, releasing dungbombs, using Skiving Snackboxes, and, in the case of Lee Jordan, releasing Nifflers into Umbridge's office.

Despite this, the OWL exams went ahead, and members of Dumbledore's Army impressed the examiners during the Defence Against the Dark Arts practical exam, especially Harry who produced his corporeal Patronus for bonus marks.

The Battle of the Department of Mysteries
After recieving a vision of Sirius Black being tortured by Lord Voldemort in the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic, Harry vowed to rescue him. However, Hermione pointed out that he needed proof that Sirius was indeed in danger, and convinced him to use the fireplace in Umbridge's office to contact 12 Grimmauld Place. Harry and Hermione were to break into the office while Ron distracted Umbridge. Ginny and Luna Lovegood were to stand guard outside Umbridge's office to ensure that no one caught them. However, during the attempt, Umbridge saw through their ruse and caught them all with the help of the Inquisitorial Squad. Neville attempted to help Ginny, and was captured along with them.

After escaping Umbridge's clutches, the six members of the DA travelled to London via Thestral, only to discover that Lord Voldemort had planted the vision in Harry's mind to get him to remove his prophecy from the Department of Mysteries. During the subsequent battle, several of the DA members suffered injuries until the Order of the Phoenix arrived to rescue them. All the DA members survived the battle, and were treated by Madam Pomfrey in the Hospital Wing upon their return to Hogwarts.

Practical gains
During the 1996 - 1997 school term, Dumbledore's Army did not reform since there was no need to learn practical magic secretly, despite the wishes of some members to continue with the meetings. Severus Snape had taken over as the subject professor, and many of the former DA members benefitted from their practical experience, finding lessons easier than expected.

The Battle of the Astronomy Tower
Towards the end of the school year, Harry had become convinced that Draco Malfoy was a Death Eater, and was planning something. However, he was due to accompany Dumbledore on a trip to recover one of Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes. He asked Hermione and Ron to watch Malfoy and the Room of Requirement, and to gather as many other members of the DA as they could. Only Ginny, Luna and Neville answered their call, and they fought alongside the Order of the Phoenix during the Death Eater invasion of the school that ended with the death of Albus Dumbledore.

Rebellion
"Dumbledore's Army, still recruiting."

- Graffiti found all over Hogwarts during Severus Snape's reign as Headmaster

With Snape as the new Headmaster, and Harry, Ron and Hermione on the run, Neville Longbottom, Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood revived Dumbledore's Army. During the early part of the school year, they attempted to steal Godric Gryffindor's Sword from Snape's office. Presumably, Ginny had learned that Dumbledore had left it to Harry in his Will since it would be important to whatever Harry had to face, and resolved to do anything she could to help him.

Ginny, Luna, and Neville took on a leadership role, and rebelled against the new authority. They would sneak out at night and paint slogans on the walls, and generally defy the authority of the Headmaster, and the two new professors, the siblings Alecto and Amycus Carrow. The members would regularly recieve punishments in the form of beatings from the professors for their insolence - both Neville and Seamus Finnigan were on the recieving end of such punishments. The movement died down slowly, however; Luna was taken by the Death Eaters after Christmas, 1998 to hold her father to ransom over his articles in The Quibbler, and Ginny never returned from the Easter holidays because her whole family went into hiding following the escape of Harry, Ron and Hermione from Malfoy Manor.

Finally, when Michael Corner was tortured by Alecto and Amycus Carrow for trying to free a first year boy from imprisonment, Neville realised that he could no longer ask the students to risk their lives to help him, and scaled back the DA's actions against the administration.

Several weeks before the Battle of Hogwarts, the Carrows came for Neville since he had been identified as the ringleader. Originally, they had planned to hold his grandmother hostage to keep him in line, but when she escaped and went on the run herself, Neville became a target. Escaping from them, Neville came upon the Room of Requirement, and it turned itself into the ideal hiding place, including a tunnel linking it to the Hog's Head in Hogsmeade. Aberforth Dumbledore, owner of the Hog's Head, assisted Neville by sending food to him to allow him to survive. Eventually, more members of the DA started to turn up in the Room, hiding from the school authorities, and the Room accomodated them by growing larger and even adding a female bathroom when girls began showing up. Eventually, representatives from Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw called the Room home.

The Battle of Hogwarts
"I'll join you when hell freezes over! Dumbledore's Army!"

- Neville Longbottom to Lord Voldemort

When Harry returned to Hogwarts on the 2nd of May to find one of Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes, Neville took this as a sign that he had returned to fight for the school and used the DA coins to summon members who had already graduated. It had not been Harry's intention to engage in a battle, but Lord Voldemort was on his way and he needed time in the school to search for the Horcrux. As former students, supported by members of the Order of the Phoenix, began arriving to fight the Death Eaters, he agreed that battle was required. Dumbledore's Army stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the Order of the Phoenix, the Hogwarts staff, and anyone of age who wished to fight against the forces of Lord Voldemort.

During the battle, DA members fought on the front lines throughout the school. Some, such as Lavender Brown, were wounded during the conflict, while others, such as Fred Weasley and Colin Creevey, were tragically killed defending the school.

Legacy
Following the downfall of Lord Voldemort, the members of the DA held onto their coins, preserving them as badges of honour.

Behind the scenes

 * In the film version of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, it was Cho Chang who betrayed the DA to Dolores Umbridge. However, she was forced to reveal their activities under the influence of Veritaserum. Harry, however, refused to talk to her after that incident.
 * Also in the film version, it is Neville who discovers the Room of Requirement, not Dobby.
 * Nigel, a character created solely for the film, is a member of the DA. He appears to take the place of Colin Creevey.  Additionally, an unidentified student is present at the DA meetings.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows