Chapter 184: Dueling Club Planning

When Harry bid farewell to Malfoy and returned to his dormitory, he found Neville staring at him intently.

"What did you say to Malfoy?" Neville asked.

"I tested him—he seems unaware of the Death Eaters' plans," Harry omitted any mention of Ivy, "so I persuaded him to organize students to resist them."

"He agreed?" Neville smirked.

"Something like that. By the way, I told him about the Dueling Club," Harry said. "He's now planning to rally Slytherin students for intensive training—we can't fall behind."

"You're right. I've also been planning to gather students and train them in dueling skills," Neville rubbed his chin. "How about naming it the Lionheart Society?"

"Sounds great—very Gryffindor," Harry gently suggested. "But how will you attract students from other houses?"

"No, I don't think it's necessary," Neville shook his head. "Since the tournament is organized by house, each house should form its own student group. I'll suggest Hannah rally the Hufflepuffs, and Zhang Qiu handle Ravenclaw."

"Hannah and Hufflepuff—that's certainly good," Harry hesitated. "But I still need to think about Ravenclaw."

The main reason for Harry's hesitation was that he hoped Zhang Qiu would accompany him to the Triwizard Tournament—this was also one reason he'd assigned the girls' society to Ivy and Hermione.

If Zhang Qiu didn't recruit Ravenclaw students, Malfoy would have Luna do it instead—which would be bad news for Gryffindor, though Harry himself wouldn't mind.

"Stop thinking. Go to sleep," Ron poked his head out from under the bed curtains. "You're smarter in the morning."

Early the next morning, as Harry and Ron left their dormitory, they discovered everyone rushing about, clearly busy. Even Fred and George were occupied running their magical joke shop, meanwhile researching some kind of "age-restriction-bypassing" device they believed would be popular.

Students who had turned seventeen were distracted, while those under seventeen but full of themselves loudly discussed possible ways to circumvent the restrictions. Only then did Harry snap out of the political games—he realized the most popular topic at school was still the Triwizard Tournament.

Neville understood this well: when he went around inviting students to join the Lionheart Society, merely saying "Let's study wizard dueling" drew almost no response. But once the rumor spread from Slytherin that "the third task of the Triwizard Tournament is a duel," suddenly people began flocking to Neville.

In contrast, the girls' SPEW group formed smoothly—most young girls cared less about becoming champions and more about marrying one. SPEW already had a basic structure: Zhang Qiu as president, Ivy as secretary, Hermione and Panxi as vice presidents, plus a large roster of members. They were now considering whether to elect more vice presidents.

"Why do we look so idle?" Ron said. "It feels like we're the only two doing nothing in the whole school."

"Because we don't need to figure out how to board the train," Harry shrugged. "Once we're on the train, we'll be busy enough."

"True. When does the train leave again? Late October—before Halloween?" Ron suddenly looked uneasy. "Does that mean we won't be able to go to Hogsmeade this year?"

"Looks like it…," Harry sighed, watching the bustling students. "But we can go now."

After spending a pleasant weekend in Hogsmeade, Harry realized he still needed to attend the Torchwood gathering on Sunday night, so he bid Ron farewell and headed alone toward the fourth floor.

When he passed through the illusionary wall into headquarters, he found everyone already there. Malfoy was discussing something with Luna, and Panxi's appearance shocked Harry.

Panxi was no longer the ugly, pug-faced girl she'd been; instead, she looked far more pleasant—her features had grown refined, her skin smoother, her smile and gaze as gentle as any other girl's.

Clearly, this was the result of the makeup spell, Harry thought silently.

"Oh, Harry, you're here," Malfoy smiled. "Let's begin."

The children sat up straight; Harry took his assigned seat. Malfoy nodded and began: "I'm sure everyone's most concerned about the Triwizard Tournament. Without doubt, Harry Potter will represent Hogwarts as the top contender. Let's congratulate Harry."

"Wonderful," Luna sang out.

"But doesn't that mean Harry's going to France this year, and we won't see him?" Crabbe said with a hint of regret.

"Exactly. So I hope that before we depart, everyone gets their affairs in order," Harry said. "My greatest concern is someone attacking the school."

"I'd like you to repeat the exact source of this information," Malfoy said gravely. "On matters concerning Hogwarts, we mustn't hide things from each other."

"The information comes from two sources: Bai Gong and the Ministry of Magic," Harry was prepared. "Both sides are playing the same game: Dumbledore is leaving the school because of the Triwizard Tournament, intending to duel the Dark Lord outside. Once he's gone, the remaining Death Eaters plan to attack Hogwarts—to distract Dumbledore and eliminate the remaining resistance."

"The first part is the same," Malfoy sighed. "The Dark Lord has also decided to duel Dumbledore outside the school. But the Death Eater leadership wants to wait quietly for the outcome—once the Dark Lord defeats the so-called invincible Dumbledore, we can smoothly take over Hogwarts."

"But we don't know what the other Death Eaters plan," Malfoy rubbed his chin. "I wrote to my father—he told me Antonin hasn't attended meetings in a long time. He suspects the Dark Lord has given him a separate mission."

"Neutral observer, fairly speaking," Cui Ge commented from the sidelines. "I think this is a honorable, dignified duel. But aren't the Death Eaters being overly optimistic? What if the Dark Lord is once again defeated by the invincible Dumbledore?"

"If he loses, the Death Eaters will lie low, waiting for the Dark Lord to rise again," Malfoy spoke vaguely, but Harry guessed they might already suspect Voldemort was immortal.

"Exactly," Panxi said. "In that case, attacking Hogwarts makes no sense. Besides, most low-ranking Death Eaters have been recruited by a mysterious figure called the Night Father. Unless he's Antonin himself, we don't even have enough manpower."

"Then attacking Hogwarts makes perfect sense," Cui Ge said before Harry could speak, eagerly analyzing.

"The Dark Lord doesn't need so many fools cluttering things up and tarnishing the Death Eaters' reputation. That's why he sent Antonin to recruit the low-rankers and send them to attack Hogwarts."

"If the Dark Lord defeats Dumbledore, the Death Eaters, as victors, will divide the Order of the Phoenix's spoils—and fewer people dividing the cake is better. Losing all those low-rankers at Hogwarts would be ideal," Cui Ge said. "But if Dumbledore defeats the Dark Lord and the Death Eaters must lie low, then capturing many low-rankers gives the Ministry a satisfactory explanation."

"Ah, so you mean the plan to attack Hogwarts was always a suicide mission?" Harry recalled the vision of Voldemort he'd seen in his dreams—he too knew the attack on Hogwarts was doomed, intending only to use it to install Snape as headmaster.

"Then it's clear," Malfoy said cheerfully. "Whether for Hogwarts, for Dumbledore, or for the Dark Lord, we all have an obligation to unite and repel the attack. We must organize willing students into a Defense Alliance to protect this school from foolish Death Eaters."

Harry nodded to him. Cui Ge nodded in deep agreement. But the four girls looked uninterested.

"Besides, the professors aren't completely in the dark. Moody plans to focus on the Dueling Club—he's said he'll arrange house-vs-house duels to train students' practical skills," Crabbe added.

"Exactly. That's what I meant to say," Malfoy looked at Luna. "We'll form combat squads in Slytherin. Neville will form them in Gryffindor. I want you to organize one in Ravenclaw."

"Can't Zhang Qiu do it?" Luna said lazily.

"Zhang Qiu might also enter the Triwizard Tournament. She can handle initial preparations, but someone must lead and manage the members afterward," Harry said. "Besides, Hufflepuff has already begun organizing students—currently led by Cedric. But Cedric is seventeen this year; he may hand the team over to Hannah later."

"Most importantly," Malfoy said, "the organizer must have considerable strength—enough to teach members dueling knowledge the professors never cover. Otherwise, they won't earn respect."

"And if Gryffindor and Hufflepuff keep exchanging experience, Slytherin should do the same with Ravenclaw," Panxi added. "Otherwise, we'll fall behind."

"Fine," Luna finally agreed, though her face showed no sign of delight.