Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Major Events/Dumbledore's Army
From Wikibooks, the open-content textbooks collection
| Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter - Major Event | |
| Dumbledore's Army | |
|---|---|
| Location | Room of Requirement |
| Time Period | Year 5, about October to about March, and again in Year 7 |
| Important Characters | Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, among others |
Contents |
[edit] Overview
Dumbledore's Army (D.A.) is the secret Defence Against the Dark Arts group founded by Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, with assistance from Ron Weasley.
[edit] Event Details
Professor Dolores Umbridge, Hogwart's new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, only lectures on Ministry-approved theory from the textbook and refuses to teach real defensive magic. Sirius Black, in conversation with Harry after the group is founded, reveals that this is because the Ministry is worried that Albus Dumbledore may be trying to raise a private army to attack the Ministry itself. Within the first two weeks of classes, Hermione has seen how stultifying and useless this form of teaching is, and with the assistance of Ron, suggests to Harry that it would be a good idea to have someone teach them real Defence Against the Dark Arts, rather than the useless "techniques" currently being taught. When Harry agrees to this, Hermione tentatively suggests that the appropriate teacher would be Harry himself. Harry's surprise turns into exasperation when Ron agrees that he is the logical choice.
Although Harry initially feels he is unqualified to teach Defensive Arts, he reluctantly agrees after Hermione convinces him he has gained considerable knowledge on the subject. Hermione then invites "a couple of students" to meet at the Hog's Head Inn in Hogsmeade village to discuss forming a group to learn real Defence Against the Dark Arts. Harry is stunned when Hermione's "couple of students" ends up numbering 25; Hermione simply says "The idea did seem quite popular." The group originally call themselves the Defence Association, or D.A. for short.
Shortly afterwards, a new Educational Decree is posted which prevents formation of student groups. Harry and Ron are convinced that someone has told Umbridge, but Hermione says nobody could have. She had passed a parchment around that everyone had signed; the parchment was jinxed so that anyone who betrayed the group after signing it would break out in severe facial blemishes.
In the conversation with Sirius earlier mentioned, Sirius mentions that he knows that they are starting the group; he says that at the initial meeting, a heavily veiled witch that Harry and Hermione had noted was Mundungus Fletcher. He passes on a message from Ron's mother forbidding Ron from having anything to do with it, and appealing to Harry and Hermione to likewise give up the idea. Sirius himself, however, says he strongly supports the idea of the group.
There is concern for some time as to where they can meet. Various suggestions are made and rejected for practical reasons. Finally, Harry happens to ask Dobby if he knows of a place, and Dobby tells Harry about the Room of Requirement, a room which appears when a person really needs it, in the form that the person needs. Harry, Ron, and Hermione pass on the description of the Room to other members of the Defence Association, as it is then known, and then go to the room themselves. When it appears for them, it is perfect, stocked with everything they need for a Defence Against the Dark Arts class; and Hermione, who has been unsure whether using the Room of Requirement is a good idea, is instantly reassured by the shelves of books along the wall. At this, their first full meeting, they change the name of the group to "Dumbledore's Army" to show their loyalty to the Headmaster and to mock the paranoid Ministry of Magic.
Meetings are irregular, as they have to be fit in around three different house's Quidditch practices; Hermione provides fake Galleons that allow DA members to send messages. The spell used to do this is a Protean Charm, which Terry Boot says is "NEWT-level magic". For several months, Harry secretly teaches students from Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff, although Slytherin is excluded. Under Harry's effective tutoring, the D.A. members learn many advanced defensive Dark Art techniques, starting with the simple disarmament charm and proceeding to the NEWT-level Patronus charm.
Dumbledore's Army abruptly ends in March when D.A. member and Ravenclaw student Marietta Edgecombe reveals its existence to Umbridge, instigating a raid by her Inquisitorial Squad, comprised of Slytherin students and led by Draco Malfoy. Umbridge's attempt to detain members of the Army are thwarted by Dobby, who disobeys orders to warn Harry; Harry sends the rest of the group away, and is the only group member captured. He is taken to Dumbledore's office, where he finds Dumbledore, along with Umbridge, the Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge, Percy Weasley (along to record the meeting), and a pair of Aurors, one of whom (Kingsley Shacklebolt) Harry recognizes as being in the Order of the Phoenix.
Umbridge's star witness, Marietta, proves less than useful, as it seems Kingsley has performed a memory charm on her secretly to keep Harry out of trouble. However, the membership list for the D. A. was retrieved by Pansy Parkinson, and the heading, "Dumbledore's Army", is enough to allow the Ministry to order Dumbledore's arrest. This heading on the membership list allows Dumbledore to claim responsibility for forming the group, thus protecting the students. The Ministry's subsequent attempt to arrest him results in his spectacular departure from Hogwarts. Umbridge is appointed Headmistress in his place. For betraying the D.A., permanent purple pustules spelling "SNEAK" erupt across Marietta's face—courtesy of Hermione's jinxed parchment.
With the appointment of a competent Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher in Harry's sixth year (Severus Snape), there is little need to re-start Dumbledore's Army. Harry does put out a call to the members of the DA for assistance when he knows Dumbledore will be leaving the school temporarily, but only about five members respond: Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Luna Lovegood, Neville Longbottom, and Ginny Weasley.
In what would be Harry's seventh year, Neville, Luna, and Ginny restart Dumbledore's Army as a means of rebelling against Hogwarts' new emphasis on Dark Arts at the hands of headmaster Snape, Dark Arts teacher Amycus Carrow, and Muggle Studies teacher Alecto Carrow, all of whom are Death Eaters. The DA falls on hard times as its members are hunted down; Luna is captured, Ginny escapes with her family, and Neville's grandmother is targeted in an unsuccessful attempt to put pressure on Neville. The DA retreat to the Room of Requirement, from which they continue guerrilla raids on the school.
When Harry returns to the school, Neville, using the Galleons that Hermione had earlier enchanted to tell about meetings, recalls the rest of the D.A. The members of the Order of the Phoenix come along with them, along with many other wizards.
The Members Of Dumbledore's Army include: Hannah Abbott, Lavender Brown, Katie Bell, Susan Bones, Terry Boot, Cho Chang, Michael Corner, Colin Creevey, Dennis Creevey, Marietta Edgecombe, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Seamus Finnigan, Anthony Goldstein, Hermione Granger, Angelina Johnson, Lee Jordan, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, Ernie Macmillan, Padma Patil, Parvarti Patil, Harry Potter, Zacharias Smith, Alicia Spinnet, Dean Thomas, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, Ginny Weasley, and Ron Weasley. Seamus Finnigan is a late-joining member; not present at the initial meeting in The Hog's Head, the first meeting he attended was the one that was broken up by Marietta Edgecombe's betrayal of the group.
[edit] Notable Consequences
When meeting in the Hog's Head, Harry expresses some doubts that they may be overheard by someone, suggesting that a veiled witch in the corner might be Umbridge. Umbridge is not present, as it turns out, but here are in fact two eavesdroppers: the witch is Mundungus Fletcher, there for the Order of the Phoenix, and also present is Willy Widdershins, the comprehensively bandaged wizard at the bar drinking Firewhiskey, who promptly reports back to Umbridge. It is as a direct result of this meeting that Umbridge causes promulgation of Educational Decree number Twenty-Four which prevents unapproved student groups. This has the side effect of banning the Quidditch teams. The fact that the Slytherin Quidditch team is approved and reforms immediately, while the Gryffindor team is not allowed to reform for a month, is an indication of how Umbridge will tend to abuse her powers.
Cho Chang has joined the D.A. largely because Harry was there. Cho makes use of the end of the last D.A. meeting before Christmas to kiss Harry in private. We can see from his response to this, as related to Hermione, that he is extremely unsure of himself around Cho.
The continued unapproved meetings of the D.A., in violation of Educational Decree number Twenty-Four, are eventually betrayed, and an attempt is made to apprehend the group. In the end, due to a timely warning from Dobby, the only group member caught is Harry himself. Pansy Parkinson enters the Room of Requirement and retrieves the membership list. Cornelius Fudge has been summoned to witness the bringing of the group to justice; on seeing the membership list heading, his paranoia asserts itself, and he tries to arrest Dumbledore. Dumbledore escapes, dramatically, and Umbridge is appointed Headmistress, although she is never able to get into the Headmaster's office after Dumbledore's departure.
Marietta Edgecombe's defection not only betrayed Dumbledore's Army, but ultimately doomed Harry and Cho Chang's relationship. When Cho defends Marietta's actions and is angry that Hermione secretly jinxed the parchment the D.A. members signed, Harry angrily lashes out, calling Hermione's plan "brilliant." Cho is deeply offended and storms off in tears; she and Harry do not speak to one another for two years.
Unfortunately for Umbridge, students have acquired what she vigorously prevented them from having: Defence Against the Dark Arts knowledge. The D.A. members use their new-found skills on several occasions. When Ron, Ginny, Neville, and Luna are captured by Umbridge's Inquisitorial Squad, they escape with defensive jinxes and hexes. The students use Defensive Arts during the Battle at the Department of Mysteries, fending off Death Eaters until Order of the Phoenix reinforcements arrive. When Draco and his minions attempt to Curse Harry on the Hogwarts Express, D.A. members come to his rescue, jinxing the Slytherins until they are unrecognizable. Members of Dumbledore's Army use what they have learned to assist with the defence of the school at the battle under the Astronomy tower. And it is largely members of Dumbledore's Army who make up the core of the guerrilla resistance against Snape's rule in the seventh book.
[edit] Analysis
Curiously, it is Hermione who takes action against Umbridge by forming Dumbledore's Army. Although she believes in strictly adhering to school rules, she never hesitates to break them when she believes they are wrong or a nobler purpose is served. In this instance, she not only takes on Umbridge, but the entire Ministry of Magic, who are convinced Dumbledore may be creating a secret wizard army against them.
There are two people in Dumbledore's Army who do not completely seem to belong there. These are Zacharias Smith and Marietta Edgecombe. Smith is confrontational, to the point that at the organizational meeting Fred Weasley feels compelled to threaten him with a pointed metal object that he produces from a Zonko's Joke Shop bag. Smith also does not seem to want to sign the parchment that Hermione passes around, where they swear not to tell anyone about the D.A. Granted, he is not the only one to express reluctance; Ernie Macmillan hesitates, saying he is a prefect, and if the parchment were found... He only signs when Hermione points out that she's not going to leave this bit of parchment lying around. From the beginning, we have a feeling that the D.A. is doomed, that it will accomplish at least some part of its purpose, but will ultimately fall to Umbridge and her cronies; and Zacharias Smith's continuing skepticism makes him a lead candidate for that betrayal.
Marietta is along because Cho is going, and she is always very quiet, limiting her interaction to sighs and non-verbal displays of impatience. When the actual betrayal takes place, we fully expect Zacharias to have been the agent, and are very surprised when it turns out to be Marietta.
Even before Harry gets the teaching up to that level, Hermione is seen doing two NEWT-class spells here. The first is the parchment, on which everyone signs their names at the organizational meeting. As mentioned above, the parchment is charmed so that anyone who betrays the D.A. will break out in horrendous blemishes. When Hermione mentions this to Ron and Harry, after the promulgation of the Educational Decree banning student organizations, they are both very impressed; Ron in particular recognizes that this is very advanced magic. One wonders why Hermione had not told the rest of the D.A. of this charm, once they had all signed; Marietta might have chosen a different course of action had she known that betraying the D.A. to Umbridge would result in her wearing the word "Sneak" across her face for at least a year.
The second is the Galleons; every Galleon has on it a serial number, that of the gnome who cast it. Hermione has made fake Galleons for the D.A., which look like real ones except that the serial number changes to indicate the date and time of the next meeting. When Hermione passes these out at the second regular meeting, everyone present is amazed that she is capable of performing a Protean Charm, it being such advanced magic.
[edit] Questions
- What prompts Hermione to form Dumbledore's Army? Why is it kept secret?
- Why is the group's original name changed from Defense Association to Dumbledore's Army?
- What are possible reasons Slytherin students were excluded from the group?
- Why did purple pimples break out on Marietta Edgecombe's face? Who was responsible?
- Why does Professor Dumbledore claim responsibility for having organized the group? What happens when he does?
- Why is Harry initially reluctant to teach Defensive Arts? Who convinces him otherwise?
- How does Marietta Edgecombe betraying the D.A. contribute to Harry and Cho breaking up?
[edit] Greater Picture
In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry finds out that he and Dumbledore are going to both be leaving the school for a while, and while he cannot be sure what Draco's mission is, or whether he has accomplished it, he has at the very least a great suspicion that it has been completed successfully. Although Dumbledore reassures him that the school is protected by Aurors and members of the Order of the Phoenix, Harry does not feel that is enough. For reasons of his own, he feels that Draco's task may have resulted in an increased danger to Hogwarts in a way that the Order had not anticipated. When appealing to Dumbledore seems ineffective, Harry tries to re-activate the D.A., with very limited success: only Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, and Luna Lovegood come forward. However, the five of them, with a little help from Harry's remaining stock of Felix Felicis potion, manage to turn the tide of the battle.
In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Neville and Ginny re-activate Dumbledore's army as a means of rebelling against the headmaster, Severus Snape. As there are two other Death Eaters teaching at the school, and the teaching has become a lot darker and more abusive, this is not a complete success. However, the organization is in place, and is working out of the Room of Requirement, when Harry reaches Hogwarts. Additionally, when Neville uses the Galleons to summon the D.A., all of the past members of the D.A. arrive as well, forming the nucleus of a fighting group that will largely save Hogwarts.
Surprisingly, the choice of which student enters the Room of Requirement to retrieve the parchment is important. Voldemort, when he was at Hogwarts, apparently discovered the Room of Requirement. It seems that most people who discover it are looking for some place to hide something; Professor Trelawney had discovered it when looking for a place to hide her sherry, and the Twins had been looking for a place to hide themselves from Filch, for instance. Voldemort, presumably looking for a place to hide something he had done, had thus managed to open the door onto a warehouse full of a thousand years worth of magical junk. He apparently instructed Draco Malfoy, over the summer, as to how to get into that aspect of the Room. It is in that aspect of the room that Draco was working on his technique for getting Death Eaters into Hogwarts throughout Harry's sixth year. If Draco had ever seen the inside of the room prepared for D.A. meetings, he might have had a better idea of what the room actually was; as it is, though, only Pansy has seen that aspect of the room, and Draco, in his superior way, likely would not bother to ask her what the inside of the room looked like, assuming, once he got instructions on how to enter, that the DA had been practicing in the junk warehouse.
