"So," said Harry, as he paced back and forth between Hermione and Draco in what had become their corner of the Ravenclaw common room (Draco wouldn't consider it 'theirs,' because that suggested that he and Hermione shared something, but the three of them took it over often enough that Harry insisted on claiming it), "I was thinking of what kind of… of organization we should make, and I've decided that it ought to be an exclusive club of sorts. Since we'll be working on serious defense and possibly hexing each other, I also think it ought to be secret. Otherwise, the professors would insist on monitoring us, which would make it more difficult to meet and restrict the things we could work on."

Hermione stared at him with wide-eyes. He'd already explained the idea he and Draco had come up with in Defense, but it was apparent she was only just starting to understand that they actually planned to go through with it.

"Harry, we're first years. We might kill each other."

"I've been learning magic for over two years already," Harry argued, "so I'm like a third year. In any case, we'll start small and work our way up. There's nothing dangerous about perfecting stunning charms or learning shielding spells."

"But it still isn't right!" she argued. "We can't do something like this behind the teachers' backs."

"Why not?" drawled Draco. "It's hardly different than a special study group."

"It's against the rules."

"Screw the rules," said Harry. "This is more important." Hermione looked like she wanted to argue, but Harry cut her off. "You don't have to get involved with this, you know. We'll do it either way, and I do want you there, but I won't force you into anything."

Hermione pursed her lips, but said nothing; she'd clearly already decided to join and was simply upset that she'd been talked into it so easily.

"Good," said Harry, ignoring the glower she shot him in response. "Now, onto the specifics. For one, we need to keep the group's numbers down. The more people who know about it, the bigger chance that things will leak. Also, it's harder to work with large groups. We'd all learn more if there aren't a lot of people to teach. Agreed?"

"Obviously," said Draco.

"I suppose," Hermione agreed.

"Good. Now, I want Neville and Ron eventually—right now, I'm not sure they'd agree to join anything Draco's involved with, and I really don't trust Ron anyway. I say we befriend them first, then allow them into the society when they're ready."

"Ron?" asked Hermione, wrinkling her nose.

"We need Gryffindor muscle, apparently," said Draco, his expression laughably identical to Hermione's. "I've tried to argue, but Harry is insistent." He looked at Harry. "And what you just called it—the society—I think we ought to keep referring to it like that. It's memorable, but elegant."

"The Society," Harry repeated. "I like it, but there needs to be more."

"The Society of Soldiers," said Draco. "It's appropriate given what we discussed in class."

Hermione shook her head. "I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about, but I don't like it. Soldiers makes it like a militant group; it's too violent."

"I agree," said Harry. "I don't like the word soldier."

"Then…" Draco's brow furrowed in thought. "What about 'warrior?' The Society of Warriors."

Harry considered it for a moment, then allowed a slow, creeping grin to spread across his face. "That's perfect. It's simple, but gives everyone the impression that we're powerful and important."

"It does sound rather impressive," allowed Hermione.

"Then the Society of Warriors it is," Harry said. "But that's just the name. Now we've got to work out everything else."

"How much else?" asked Hermione. "Because it sounds like you don't even know where we're going to meet."

"Surely there's some place..." They all chewed over the issue for a minute. When nowhere suitable came to mind, Harry said, "I'll ask Tom. He went to Hogwarts, and I bet he knows the school better than anyone. He'll have somewhere we can go."

As it seemed that Tom knew a bit of everything, neither Hermione nor Draco questioned this.

"We also ought to get a jinx to keep members from talking about it," Hermione added. "And a list of rules-"

"No rules," Draco cut in. "Rules are too plebian. We'll need a guideline for what members can or can't do, but let's… let's call it a code. Harry and I, since we came up with the idea-"

"And Hermione," Harry cut in. "She's one of the first three. That ought to count for something."

Draco rolled his eyes, but looked as though he'd expecting this and simply said, "Fine. Granger, too. But the three of us will have to decide on what the code should be made up of, then word it formally and find some way to hold everyone in the Society accountable to it."

"Rings!" said Harry. "Most old pureblood families have signet rings that are charmed to react to certain stimuli, like making an heir's hand fall off if he tries to wear it once he's disowned-" Draco twists his hand uncomfortably, emerald and silver twinkling on one finger, "-and then there are the wedding rings that make, well – other things fall off if the husband cheats. We could do something similar. I bet it wouldn't be too hard to jinx the gems to turn a different color if someone acts against the Code. And if they actively betray the Society, the jinx ought to be really obvious so that we can all see it."

"Like something that dyes the skin of their hands black," Draco suggested. "And it should hurt too."

Hermione balked. "That's barbaric!"

Harry disagreed. "We'll tell the members what they're getting into before they join. If they decide at some point that they don't want to be a part of it, they can tell us to our faces. We won't force them to stay. I just don't want anyone defecting behind our backs."

Hermione shook her head. "You're both taking this too seriously. It's a study group."

Draco and Harry eyed one another; given what they'd already inferred about Quirrell, they were honestly a bit worried about not taking it seriously enough. But Hermione didn't know the whole of the situation, and they'd already decided to wait until the third-floor expedition to explain anything in detail (if she still wanted to hear it), so really she couldn't comprehend the gravity of things quite yet.

Harry debated for a moment as to how to get her to see that their 'club' wouldn't just be a club, but Draco beat him to it.

"Say that my father finds out that I'm in a secret society with a Muggleborn," the blond said slowly. "And say that I don't quit when he demands it. I would be punished severely, and should the news become widespread, he would have no choice but to disown me or risk losing valuable 'friends' because of my association with you.

"In the Wizarding World, formally connecting yourself with someone else is a serious matter; even the play dates I had with Crabbe and Goyle when I was three were serious matters. It's an issue of choosing sides and forming future alliances, and that isn't something to be taken lightly, even if you think it's silly now." He paused, but added, "Plus, this isn't a study group. Harry's building an army."

"Draco."

"Kidding," he said, even though he wasn't.

Hermione opened her mouth to argue, then realized that at the very least the first part of Draco's statement was perfectly legitimate and reluctantly kept silent.

"Right. So we're all agreed about that," said Harry. "I'll write Tom about a meeting place, and… well, do you mind if I ask him to acquire the rings as well? I don't know how else we'd get them, since I doubt Draco's father will order them without asking questions."

"Tom is fine," said Draco.

"He shouldn't have to pay for all of this," Hermione protested.

Harry waved off her concern. Most of Voldemort's followers had granted the Dark Lord access to their vaults, so Tom was able to make withdrawals without consequence from at least a half dozen old pureblood families. On top of that, a handful of other Death Eaters left their assets to Voldemort in case of their death or imprisonment; that meant Tom legitimately owned all of their money and belongings. Most significantly, Voldemort had acquired more than his share of galleons by murdering wealthy blood traitors and Muggles, stealing from families he didn't like and acquiring resources through any number of corrupt means.

Assets that had been secured to fund an entire crusade had found their way into the hands of one man, which left Tom with a staggering amount of wealth. Within several years, he'd have to share it with his other self (and tread more carefully as to which withdrawals he made from where), but for the time being he was likely the wealthiest man in the wizarding world and there was nothing to stop him from making use of that.

"Money isn't an issue," said Harry simply.

"Sounds like the type of man my father would appreciate," said Draco.

Harry rolled his eyes.

"Moving on, our final order of business is recruiting. As of now, I want all houses represented in this. Ron and Neville will be our targets from Gryffindor, but you'll have to help pick students from Slytherin and Hufflepuff. They should be within two years of us—I think they'd get condescending if we went much older—and have something to offer the group. Two or three from each house will be more than enough for the time being. We'll need to figure out how to deal with new students if the group lasts, but ten or so total is a good number for now.

"If we're going to have Muggleborns and blood traitors involved," drawled Draco, "I imagine the only first year Slytherins who'd even think of joining are Blaise Zabini and Daphne Greengrass. Cassius Warrington and Adrian Pucey might also be options; they're third years, and from neutral families as well."

"If you had to pick two, which ones would you chose?" asked Harry.

"Daphne and Adrian," Draco replied after some consideration. "Blaise is too much a loner to get involved in something like this; we'd have to resort to bribery to get him to consider it and he isn't worth the effort. Warrington might be interested, but he's too Slytherin for his presence to mean anything good. He'd end up trying to take over."

"Alright," said Harry, smiling. "Then see if you can reach out to Greengrass and Pucey." He looked to Hermione. "Any suggestions for Hufflepuffs?"

"Cedric Diggory," she said immediately. "He's a third year, and incredibly intelligent. Everyone already knows he's going to be Head Boy eventually."

"Perfect. Who else?"

"Well, they're all very… similar, I suppose," said Hermione. "None of them stand out."

Draco made a disbelieving noise in the back of his throat.

"There might be a few older Hufflepuffs who're suitable (I really haven't cared enough to pay attention), but from our year Susan Bones is the only one who would work," he said matter-of-factly. "Abbot, Finch-Fletchley, and MacMillan are the only others worth noting, and they've already formed a clique. None of them would be willing to join without the others, and all three would be a waste of space; Abbot is silly, Finch-Fletchley naïve, and MacMillan pompous. The Bones girl, on the other hand, is mercifully inoffensive. She is also the niece of the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Connections aren't everything, but that particular one is not insignificant."

Good Merlin. Had Lucius taken Draco out to the middle of Diagon Alley and forced him to practice watching people?

Harry frowned.

Probably, yes.

"What about Zacharias Smith?" asked Harry, naming the only other Hufflepuff he could remember off the top of his head.

"I'd kill him as soon as he opened his mouth," said Draco. "He's an arrogant menace who doesn't know how to shut up."

Harry smirked at that, and Hermione added a muttered, "Pot. Kettle," under her breath. However, as Harry had no reason to disagree with Draco's choices, he nodded and said, "Alright. I'll work on Neville and Ron, Hermione can go for the Hufflepuffs, and Draco, wear down the Slytherins. Become friends with them first. When you think they'll listen about the Society, bring it up casually—and in increments, so that they don't know too much if they chose to back out. Understood?"

"Yes, master," said Draco, rolling his eyes.

"Do we have a time frame for this?" asked Hermione.

"Just until you think it's a good time to ask. We'll have a… rolling enrollment. Although, perhaps go for Pucey and Diggory first. They'll be more difficult because they're older, but if we can get them, they'll serve as an incentive for the others. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to see if I can't rope a couple Gryffindors into an exploding snap tournament."

"He's too good at convincing people to do what he wants. I can't believe he wasn't a Slytherin," Harry heard Hermione say behind him.

"Don't talk to me, Muggleborn," Draco replied. There was a pause in which Harry could almost hear the look his bushy-haired friend gave the blond, and then Draco muttered, "And in case you've failed to notice, he's also irritatingly clever; it isn't as though Ravenclaw doesn't suit him just as well. Now shut up and let me read."

"As you wish, Pureblood."

"You say that like it's an insult."

"As it's apparently synonymous with mouthy, big-headed and vain, I clearly did not mean it as a compliment."

"I'm sensing bigotry. It offends me."

"I'm sorry that I hurt your delicate-"

Harry smirked as he left the common were half way to becoming friends already.

…

It was the evening after Ravenclaw's first flying lesson (and hadn't that been the most boring hour of his life?) when the Society of Warriors met for the first time. Of course, at that point Hermione had only established tentative contact with Susan and Cedric, Harry's progress with the Gryffindors consisted of an evening exploding snap and a brief study session, and Draco hadn't done much more than partner with Daphne in Charms, but the Society was still three people strong and they figured that was a good enough place to start.

Asking Tom about where to meet turned out to be an excellent choice, as he'd pointed Harry towards what he called the Room of Requirement. It was a hidden room in the left corridor on the seventh floor, and according to Tom, it changed into whatever the users needed it to be. Harry had been skeptical at first, but when he'd paced back and forth like Tom instructed (thinking 'I need a place where my friends and I can practice magic' as he did so) a door appeared just as his father promised.

The room itself was perfect. There were loads of useful books provided, as well as numerous practice dummies. The floors were lined with mats to soften any tumbles they might take, and it was spacious enough that they could fire spells without worrying about them rebounding.

"This is brilliant," said Hermione, running her fingers of the spines of the books that the room had provided.

"It's perfect," agreed Harry.

"Look," Draco added, nodding to a table in the back that Harry hadn't noticed. "It's given us a quill and parchment. We ought to start things by making up the code, and when we're done we can ask the Room for a frame and hang it up. You know, so everyone can see it."

He really wanted to start dueling (he missed his lessons with Tom, as none of his classes at Hogwarts challenged him nearly so thoroughly), but understood that Draco had a point. If they wanted to make everything official, they really ought to get the code finished up.

"Alright," said Harry. "Let's do that first."

Draco insisted upon doing the writing because he knew calligraphy. Hermione's eyes had all but rolled out of her head at that (something along the lines of "What on earth is the purpose of learning such a useless skill?" was obviously on the tip of her tongue, but she refrained from speaking the words out loud), but she acquiesced that they might as well make it look nice, and so handed him the quill.

"I think," said Hermione then, "that we ought to have a general code of conduct first—you know, suggestions that would just make the rings change colors if the members don't follow them—and then the big rules at the end. The ones that you think warrant physical pain should they be broken."

"Alright," said Harry. "But what sort of conduct should we expect? I mean, it's a Defense club, more or less. I shouldn't think there's too much we ought to put down."

"But it's not just a Defense club," argued Draco. "Obviously it's grander than that. Something called the Society of Warriors needs to be impressive. You said yourself that this is going to be exclusive, and you can't have an exclusive society without holding the members to a certain standard of behavior." He sneered. "Especially if Weasley and Longbottom are going to join. We need to make sure they don't make the rest of us stupider by proximity."

"He's right," said Hermione, a smile twitching at her lips. "If you're as serious about this as you seem, you'll have to outline what's expected of everyone. Especially if you're going to be referring to us as 'warriors.' That suggests a degree of respectability."

Harry acknowledged that they had a point, even though trying to tell his classmates how they were supposed to behave seemed a bit much. Then again, he was starting to get into the idea of creating and being a part of a secret society. It sounded so special. Like he and his friends would share something that no one else in Hogwarts ever had.

Given, the Death Eaters had started pretty much exactly like this, but Harry wasn't going to think about that.

"Alright," he allowed. "I guess we could make it like the Code of Chivalry that the knights in King Arthur stories follow."

Draco snorted. "Chivalry, Harry? That's disgustingly Gryffindor."

"Draco has a point," said Hermione reluctantly. "The code Arthur's knights used focused a lot on Gryffindor and Hufflepuff ideals, but very few from Ravenclaw or Slytherin. We need something less particular. Something that'll encompass all of the houses."

Harry snapped his fingers. "That's perfect! We can take relevant characteristics from each house, and tailor those to fit what we need. I think two from each should do." He thought on it a second. "Well, Gryffindor chivalry would be one, and then there's Hufflepuff loyalty-"

"Ravenclaw wisdom," said Hermione.

"And intellect," added Harry.

"Slytherin cunning and ambition," Draco went on.

"Then one more from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff each. What do you think?" asked Harry.

"Well, obviously bravery," said Draco, sounding disgusted by the mere mention of the word. "And I suppose fair play would also be acceptable."

It was very clear that he didn't hold either quality in very high esteem, but they supplemented the others nicely.

"Excellent," Harry said, excitement creeping into his voice. "Perfect, really. I mean, this will be like Hogwarts as it'd been at the start of Hogwarts, a History. Before Salazar Slytherin defected, and the houses were still united. I bet nothing like it has happened here in years. If this works out, it'll be… Merlin, there's not a word for it."

"Yes, yes. We can all fawn over your brilliant idea later," said Draco. "Right now, how about one of you geniuses tells me what to write?"

With all of them feeling a little giddy and more than eager to get things moving, it didn't take long for them to get everything outlined. After that, Draco insisted that it didn't sound official enough, so he had them rework the whole thing into more formal language. By the time they were done, the code—or The Code, as Harry felt it now deserved to be called—was truly something to be proud of.

When Draco announced that he'd finished writing out the last of the official copy, Harry grinned as he leaned forward to read the final product in full.

…

THE CODE OF THE SOCIETY OF WARRIORS

…

All members of the Society shall do their best to display the following qualities:

Sense of Fair Play: Do not strike out at those who cannot defend themselves. Do not cheat. Do not take credit for achievements that are not yours.

Loyalty: Do not turn your back on the Society or its members.

Bravery: Exhibit courage when prudent. Do not run from matters that must be faced head on.

Chivalry: Show respect to others. Defend the helpless. Behave with honor and courtesy.

Cunning: Do not employ force in situations when finesse would suffice.

Ambition: Do not be content with mediocrity, and do not settle where greater things might be achieved.

Intellect: Value learning and knowledge.

Wisdom: Be able to judge what is right and true. Learn from experience.

…

The Society also asks that all members heed the following edicts:

Do not tell others about the Society.

Do not intentionally hurt fellow members of the Society.

Do not betray the Society.

*If any one of these edicts are broken, the offender runs the risk of being forcibly expelled from the Society of Warriors

…

"Does it stand up to inspection?" drawled Draco, looking very proud of himself.

"It's alright," said Harry, beaming to let his friend know it was so much better than that.

"This is all rather exciting, isn't it?" Hermione voiced. "I'll admit, I thought you were crazy at first, but this… it's really quite amazing. Imagine how far we could go with this in just a few years."

"Gag me," muttered Draco. "We should've made a rule about not letting in overly excitable Muggleborns. Merlin, if my mind weren't half corrupted already, I'd never subject myself to this." He looked to Hermione. "It's disgraceful, that I'd so willingly associate with you, the Weasley moron, and Longbottom. Grandfather Abraxas is rolling in his grave right now. Of that, I am certain."

Harry stomped on his foot. Draco elbowed him. Hermione glared at Draco.

"So… how about let's hang up the rules, and then start in on the Knockback Jinx," said Harry, hoping to diffuse the situation.

"Do I get to throw Granger into the wall?"

Well, so much for diffusing things.

Hermione smirked (in a frighteningly Draco-like manner). "If you can figure out how to cast the jinx from the floor, then you can very well try."

"Um, you two do remember the third rule, right?" Neither one answered. "Draco? Hermione?"

Upon being pointedly ignored, Harry sighed and shook his head.

He had a feeling it was going to be a long evening.

…

…

Author's Note:

So that took longer than it should have. I had the chapter written a while ago, but somehow it wound up deleted, and I had to step away for a while before I could rewrite it properly without my frustration seeping through. Hopefully this second go at it was decent.

Anyway-thanks for all the follows and reviews. I'm still floored by how much attention this story has gotten so far, and I hope you guys continue to approve. Hopefully I can get the next update up a bit quicker.