The evening was gentle with a settling breeze. The sun was just hiding below the horizon, its last rays giving a glowy orange aura to the entire population on the grounds.

The grounds spanned for as far as eyes could see. Tough soil and bare vegetation made up the landscape. Tents were set up for the teams, each enchanted to occupy six and all their things. To the further left was a small stall that was set up for food distribution.

To the front was the High Commander Sirius' chambers. Adorned with red and gold linen, his tent stood towering over the others. Ginny had expected theirs to be the same as well, considering Harry was no less than royalty, and was mildly surprised to see a simple, emerald lined tent instead.

She was not complaining, though. It was a gorgeous place to live in and a much welcome change after being stuck in her house for years together.

Lunch had been a peaceful affair, the only problem being the distance that everyone had to walk to reach the food distribution stall. Everyone had just started to settle in and Ginny clung close to Neville. The fear of her true identity getting known was much too overwhelming to socialize.

After dropping her things at the room that she shared with the boys, she hurried outside. Harry and Neville were sitting around a fire along with Luna.

"Good evening!" Ginny greeted, taking the empty seat beside Harry. "I hope I'm not too late."

"Ah, we're waiting for Granger so that's fine," Harry reassured her. "Girls take a long time, don't they?" he added, annoyed after a good five minutes. When his eyes landed on Luna, he apologized quickly. "Er, I did not mean you, Luna."

Luna smiled in a dreamy fashion to reassure him. For some reason, Ginny (as well as Neville and probably Harry now) felt a strange, calming aura from the blonde. She was just too much of a cinnamon roll to hurt her in any way. They could only hope to use that as an advantage against enemies who had a weak heart.

"My sincere apologies for being quite late. I was doing a little bit of a light reading on such organizations and lost track of time!" a voice spoke hurriedly. Ginny wheeled around in her place to see the bushy-haired girl sprint towards them. She moved closer to Harry just in time for Hermione to plop down beside her.

"Er, right." Harry cleared his throat, trying to ease the sudden tension that had cast upon them like a cloud. Standing up, probably due to the congestion, he started pacing around. "It's the five of us in this team right now. We are in short of one person but that doesn't mean we give up when there's a huge number in front of us. All of us should be united no matter what or how stressful the circumstance may be.

"Even a pint of doubt will give rise to an ocean of pointless arguments. So, I ask of you all to do one thing, honestly. Is there anything that we should know about you that might influence the decisions we take and the training we will undergo?" With sharp emerald eyes, he observed his teammates.

Hermione stood up first. She hesitated, then spoke in a very shrill voice. "I—Iamamuggleborn." Fortunately, all of them understood her. Being a muggleborn was a distressing status in the current economy. The King was accepting of all blood statuses, even squibs, but the Dark Lord despised them. Any mudblood, as he was rumoured to call, was unwelcome in his presence. The word was simply an annoying profanity for the good purebloods who believed in blood equity.

Harry stopped his pacing to speak. "That's no issue, really, Miss Granger. There are more than just Muggleborns here. You would be surprised to know that our Practice Instructor is special as well. I better not venture deep into it, as he may not be comfortable. Just know that you are all welcome here." Harry gave her a pleasant smile. With that, Hermione slumped to her seat and sighed in relief.

Ginny felt hot tension run through her veins, then. She was hiding a secret bigger than Hermione's but she was not sure if Harry would allow her to be an attacker should she reveal her true identity. Naturally, she kept quiet, trying to beat down the bile rising in her throat.

"Is that all?" Harry asked, his gaze narrowing at everyone but Hermione. When none of them made a move, he started walking again. Ginny briefly wondered if he was not used to sitting for a long time. "Now, this speech is literally common with all the groups but it is my duty to deliver it.

"I know that I can never get how much you'll miss your family. There is only one way to help that, I suppose. Each group is a family. And all the groups make up a society, in our case, the Order of The Phoenix. There is no secrets and no betrayals—" he paused, seeming to recollect himself, before turning his back towards them. "here. Have I made myself clear?" 

"Yes, sir!" The four of them echoed in unison. Harry turned back to them with a smile.

"Well then, I'm Harry Potter, your team leader but I'm just 'Harry' to you all."

"I'm Hermione Granger and, well, I like reading books. They're the reason I know defensive spells and a couple of charms. I am really looking forward to the training here," Hermione introduced herself with a small curtsy.

Luna followed the fashion. "I am called Luna Lovegood. I shall try my best with healing spells and defensive charms. Oh, and I shall also attempt to get rid of all the Nargles."

"The what—?" Neville asked.

"Nargles. They are mischievous creatures that live in mistletoes." Luna's answer was prompt but Ginny knew, by the look on everyone's, including hers, faces that nobody had understood what on earth were Nargles.

Neville started slowly, "Yeah. I get it. Um, I'm Neville Longbottom and I am better at herbology than magic."

All the heads turned to Ginny, then. She stood up, hoping to exude an aura of masculine charisma. "I am named Ron, Ron Weasley. I learned and practiced offensive spells in my village but other than that, I've never had any proper education."

"That's quite all right. Most of us haven't received proper education thanks to Voldemort." Ginny flinched visibly at the sound of the Dark Lord's name, causing Harry to narrow his eyes at her. "Look, Ron. He's just a mass murderer out there who's making our lives hell!" Harry reprimanded. "Dumbledore said and I quote, 'fear of the name increases the fear of the thing itself'. Try not to flinch next time, okay?" The way his tone had taken a sharp turn from soft to fierce sent a shiver down Ginny's spine but she made no move to show it.

"Yes sir!"

"Good. Now, who can battle me?"

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Miyoko x