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. or Defence Association, 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 in 1995. 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. It had approximately 28 members. The group was disbanded during the 1996–1997 school year following the appointment of Severus Snape as Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, although several members heeded the call and participated in the Battle of the Astronomy Tower at the end of the year.

It was restarted by Neville Longbottom, Ginny Weasley, and Luna Lovegood during the 1997–1998 school year after Hogwarts fell under the control of Lord Voldemort in order to oppose Death Eater professors Alecto and Amycus Carrow, who spread propaganda against Muggles and Muggle-borns and taught the Dark Arts. 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 fifth 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 and witches to oppose him and to try to take over the Ministry, since he refused to believe that Lord Voldemort had returned. They claimed that Cedric Diggory's death was a tragic accident, and refused to admit that Voldemort had killed him.

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 sceptical 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 insane.

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 scepticism, Harry's friends started to list his achievements &mdash; the rescue of the Philosopher's Stone, defeating the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets using Godric Gryffindor's Sword, driving off one hundred Dementors by producing the Patronus Charm, conquering the Triwizard Tournament, and duelling Voldemort himself.

The need for secrecy would be vital &mdash; if Umbridge found out about them, they would surely be shut down and punished. Each student then signed, some rather reluctantly, a special piece of parchment to show their commitment. Unknown to any of them, Hermione bewitched the parchment to include a jinx. If any student should betray the D.A., 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 D.A., they were being watched. Mundungus Fletcher, disguised as a witch with a thick black veil, was keeping an eye on Harry for the Order of the Phoenix, 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 Educational Decree Number Twenty-Four, which banned all student organisations that were not approved of by the High Inquisitor. Although not revealed at that time, Aberforth Dumbledore also relayed information about the D.A. to the Order, as they were meeting inside his pub.

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 jinx she placed 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. Soon, 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 Dobby told him how to summon the Room to Harry, Hermione, and Ron, the D.A. convened for their first practice session.

Training
During the first session, Cho Chang created the name Defence Association, but Ginny Weasley gave the group a pseudonym &mdash; "Dumbledore's Army" to frighten the Ministry officials, since they were frightened that Dumbledore was creating an army to take over the Ministry. Harry started them off slowly, practising 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 D.A. When activated by Harry, 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, practising the Impediment Jinx, the Reductor Curse, and the 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, whose friends learned that three of the escapees had tortured Neville's parents into insanity at the end of the First Wizarding War. 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. Seamus eventually joined the organisation when Dean Thomas led him there.

Betrayal and discovery
Shortly before Easter, one D.A. member, Marietta Edgecombe, betrayed them to Umbridge. She was a reluctant member of the D.A., 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 D.A.'s meetings to Umbridge. Immediately, the jinx that Hermione had placed on the parchment that each member of the D.A. had signed activated, causing the word "SNEAK" to break out in boils across Marietta's face.

Dobby learned of this turn of events, and rushed to the Room of Requirement to warn Harry and the D.A. Most members escaped, but Harry was caught by Umbridge and several Slytherin students who were members of the Inquisitorial Squad. A search of the room uncovered the parchment that each member of the D.A. 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 False 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


Members of the DA, especially Fred and George Weasley, rebelled against the new authority at the school. On one occasion, the twins released enchanted fireworks through the school, which caused chaos, and which the professors neglected to assist Umbridge with. Fred and George took it easy during the Easter holidays, but then took their rebellion to a new level. They turned a corridor of the school into a swamp to create a diversion for Harry to access the fireplace in Umbridge's office in an attempt to contact Sirius Black, and were cornered by Umbridge and members of the Inquisitorial Squad. In a final act of defiance, the twins summoned their brooms, openly mocked Umbridge's authority, struck the Squad members with a variety of jinxes, and escaped 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. Even Peeves, who had never taken an order from any student, followed Fred and George's request to "give her hell from them."

Despite this, the O.W.L. 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. He imagined Professor Umbridge being sacked, looked her straight in the eye and did his Patronus. Though she looked smug on the outside when Harry finished his O.W.L., she was furious that he indeed had passed his Defence Against the Dark Arts O.W.L.

Battle of the Department of Mysteries


After receiving 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.

Umbridge first attempted to interrogate Harry with the use of Veritaserum, but Professor Snape informed her that he had none left. She then threatened to use the Cruciatus Curse on Harry to make him talk, prompting Hermione to feign a breakdown. She pretended to cry and made up a story about the D.A. creating some kind of weapon for Dumbledore. Umbridge believed her, and Hermione and Harry lured Umbridge out into the Forbidden Forest, where she offended a herd of centaurs and was carried off. With some assistance from Grawp, Harry and Hermione made it back to the castle, where they were reunited with Ron, Ginny, Neville, and Luna, who had escaped the Inquisitorial Squad using a combination of Stunning Spells, Disarming Charms, and the Bat-Bogey Hex.

The six members of the D.A. then flew to London on Thestrals, 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 D.A. members suffered injuries until the Order of the Phoenix arrived to rescue them. All the D.A .members survived the battle, and were treated by Madam Pomfrey in the hospital wing upon their return to Hogwarts. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny all lost their close friend and, in Harry's case, godfather, Sirius Black. This battle exposed Voldemort's return to the public, and signalled the beginning of open war.

Practical gains
During the 1996–1997 school year, 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—especially Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom, who regularly checked the coins Hermione Granger had made. Severus Snape had taken over as the subject professor, and many of the former D.A. members benefited from their practical experience, finding lessons easier than expected.

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 D.A. as they could. Only Ginny, Luna, and Neville (and possibly Ernie later on) answered their call, and they fought alongside the Order of the Phoenix during the Death Eater invasion of the school that ended with the murder of Albus Dumbledore by Severus Snape. Neville got badly injured during the battle, but survived. None of the other D.A. members were injured because Harry had given Ron, Hermione and Ginny the rest of his Felix Felicis, making all of the curses just miss the Order and D.A. members.

Rebellion
"Dumbledore's Army, still recruiting."

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

On 1 August, 1997, the Ministry of Magic fell under the control of Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Attendance at Hogwarts became mandatory and Muggle-borns were rounded up and imprisoned in Azkaban after biased trials at the hands of the Muggle-Born Registration Commission. The school acquired a new headmaster, Severus Snape, and two new professors: Death Eaters Alecto and Amycus Carrow. While Harry, Ron, and Hermione went on the run to hunt down and destroy Voldemort's Horcruxes, Neville Longbottom revived Dumbledore's Army, alongside Luna Lovegood and Ginny Weasley

The D.A. rebelled against the new authority, which spread venomous propaganda about Muggles and Muggle-borns and taught students the Dark Arts. D.A. members snuck out at night and painted slogans on the walls, and generally defied the authority of the Headmaster and the Carrows. The members would regularly receive punishments in the form of beatings from the professors for their insolence; some were even punished by being used as practice for the Cruciatus Curse by other students, such as Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe.

The D.A. also attempted to help Harry, Hermione, and Ron in any way they could, prepared to revolt against the professors when the trio returned. Ginny, Neville, and Luna attempted to steal Godric Gryffindor's Sword from Snape's office early in the year. 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. The three D.A. members were caught, however, and sentenced to detention in the Forbidden Forest with Rubeus Hagrid.

Slowly, the movement died down, however, when Luna was taken by the Death Eaters after Christmas, 1997 to hold her father to ransom over his articles in The Quibbler, and Ginny never returned from the Easter holidays because her family had to go into hiding following the escape of Harry, Ron, and Hermione from Malfoy Manor. However, during this same escape, the trio, with the help of Dobby the House-elf, rescued Luna Lovegood, Garrick Ollivander and former member Dean Thomas and the organisation learned of this when Luna managed to send them a message about her rescue through her old D. A. coin. Finally, when Michael Corner was tortured by Alecto and Amycus Carrow for trying to free a first year boy from imprisonment, Neville realised he could no longer ask the students to risk their lives for the D.A, and scaled back the D. A.'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 accommodated 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.

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

- Neville Longbottom to Lord Voldemort

When Harry, Ron, and Hermione returned to Hogwarts on the 1st of May to find one of Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes, Neville took this as a sign that they had returned to fight for the school and used the D.A. coins to summon members who had left Hogwarts or had already graduated. It had not been Harry's intention to engage in a battle, but Lord Voldemort was on his way with his army, and Harry 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, Harry was persuaded by Ron and Hermione that a battle could not be avoided. Harry himself led an important group against the Death Eaters and aided by Luna Lovegood and Professors McGonagall, Sprout, Flitwick and Slughorn, retook the school in a short amount of time. Harry and Luna defeated the Carrows and Professor McGonagall joined them and summoned the other teachers once she learned what Harry was there to do and together they drove Snape from the castle. 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, D.A. members fought on the front lines throughout the school. Some were wounded during the conflict, while others, such as Fred Weasley, Lavender Brown, and Colin Creevey, were tragically killed defending the school. The survivors then defeated many Death Eaters and watched their enemy Lord Voldemort die at the hands of Harry Potter.

Legacy
Following the downfall of Lord Voldemort and the end of the Second Wizarding War, the members of the D.A. held onto their coins, preserving them as badges of honour.

Also, everyone who participated in the Battle of Hogwarts, including the D.A. members, was given special permission by Minister for Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt to become an Auror without the usual difficult qualifications, if they chose to. Harry Potter took up this offer, as did Neville Longbottom, temporarily, as well as Ron Weasley before working at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes with his brother George. It is unknown what became of Dumbledore's Army as an organisation following the war.

Member list
"We're his army. Dumbledore's Army... Everyone in this room's been fighting... Everyone in here's proven they're loyal to Dumbledore – loyal to you."

- Neville Longbottom to Harry Potter just before the Battle of Hogwarts

Behind the scenes

 * In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, it was Cho Chang who "betrayed" the D.A. to Dolores Umbridge rather than her friend Marietta Edgecombe. In the film, Harry refused to talk to her after that incident, leading to their breakup. However, it was later revealed by Severus Snape that she was unwillingly forced to reveal their activities under the influence of Veritaserum, although Harry and Cho still did not reconcile their relationship but they at least remain as friends.
 * There is a total of 36 students in Dumbledore's Army, counting both the books and the films.
 * Also in the film adaptation, it is Neville who discovers the Room of Requirement, not Dobby.
 * Nigel Wolpert, a character created solely for the film, was a member of the D.A. He appeared to take the place of Colin Creevey. Additionally, Bem is present at the D.A. meetings.
 * In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Dolores Umbridge breaks into the Room of Requirement using the Bombarda Maxima spell. In the book, Harry is warned in advance of this by Dobby and the Inquisitorial Squad rounds up D.A. members as they flee. Draco Malfoy captured Harry with a Trip Jinx and brought him to Umbridge's office.
 * In the film, all of Dumbledore's Army is given detention and wrote "I must not break rules" with Umbridge's Blood quill that carved the words into the back of their hands.
 * In the film, the injuries the D.A. suffered while trying to escape from the Department of Mysteries were portrayed merely as cuts and bruises, while in the book most of the D.A. were seriously injured or rendered unconscious.
 * Neville Longbottom, Ginny Weasley, and Luna Lovegood re-forming Dumbledore's Army is not mentioned in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1.
 * DA is also short for direct action, a kind of a military operation: "Short-duration strikes and other small-scale offensive actions conducted as a special operation in hostile, denied, or politically sensitive environments and which employ specialized military capabilities to seize, destroy, capture, exploit, recover, or damage designated targets."
 * The members of the Dumbledore's Army appear to have an increase in late 1997-1998, when Neville Longbottom, Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood attempted to revive the group. Leanne is one example of a new member.
 * In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Leanne, Romilda Vane and Cormac McLaggen join the DA unlike not appearing in the book.
 * The D.A is seen to be similar to the Friends of the ABC group in Victor Hugo's Les Miserables. They are similar in the sense that they both fight for a new world without corrupted power. However, D.A never fought against the government, only against people sent to Hogwarts by Lord Voldemort. Both D.A and the ABC fought in battles, many members dying during these acts.

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 Half-Blood Prince (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (video game)
 * LEGO Harry Potter: Characters of the Magical World
 * LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
 * Harry Potter for Kinect