On 10 Sept, 1995, after another wasteful day in Defense Against the Dark Arts where Prof. Umbrage treated her students like little children and refused to allow them to learn any magic, frustration boiled over for Hermione Granger.  Granger, of course worried about passing her OWLs at the end of the year, seemed more frustrated because she felt she would unprepared to fight….LORD VOLDEMORT.

Saying the name of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named for the first time, Granger approached her friend Harry Potter about taking matters into their own hands. As many students have done at schools throughout the world, a study group would eventually be formed with Potter at the center as the tutor/instructor.

At first, Potter was reluctant to take on such a task, but subconsciously was very pleased and even began to plan lessons in the back of his mind.

It would not be until 5 Oct that the first meeting at the Hog’s Head of what would eventually become known as Dumbledore’s Army actually happened and then another few days until the group actually met to learn Defense Against the Dark Arts.

This group would live on well past Potter’s fifth year and would even go on to play a central role in the rejection of Severus Snape as headmaster two years later.

The acknowledgement of an unwillingness by those in charge and the desire to make a change is a recurring theme in history.  As recently as this year, the students at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School have seen the ineffectiveness of their politicians and leaders and sought to make change on their own. Student protest can be a powerful tool, though the powerful people can, and often will, point to age and inexperience as a reason why the general population should ignore the agents of change. This makes what Potter and his friends have accomplished even more significant.  They stood up not only to a poor teacher, but also to a corrupt government.