Alright, so I'm not leaving my other two stories, I'm just picking up a new one. After reading my friends story last night, I had a sudden urge to write a new story, so I did. I hope you like it, please do review!! And now that I am out of school till January, updates for my other two stories, as well as this one, should come quicker. So please do read, and tell me what you think.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, but the plot. And the rating 'M' will come into play in later chapters.


"Is Harry coming?" the ginger-haired girl asked her busy mother.

"Yes dear. He's arriving tomorrow," Her mother put down the glass she was attempting to fix, and turned her attention to her daughter. "Ginny dear, you mustn't expect anything. He's only going to be here for a week, if that. Then he, Hermione, and…and Ron are going to be off."

Ginny knew she shouldn't look forward to his visit. She knew the gravity of the situation. Times were getting worse. Everything was going wrong. With the loss of Dumbledore, Hogwarts closed, and the words 'safe haven' became a distant dream acquirable by no one. Voldemort and his followers were everywhere. There were attacks left and right. Even the muggle world was being terrorized. More and more people kept turning up dead. But still, Ginny just wanted to spend time having fun with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. She knew it was selfish of her, but she couldn't help it. She longed for the old days. The Hogwarts days.

"I know…" She replied with an almost eerie detachment. "Couldn't I just--"

"Absolutely not!" Mrs. Weasely shrieked, puffing herself up to full capacity. "You will do no such thing. I can't keep your brother home, but you I still have authority over. And you are going nowhere as far as this matter is concerned."

Ginny knew it was a shot in the dark. But she had to try again. She knew her mother would never let her leave, and go off with the Trio. Oh how she envied them sometimes. They always found adventures, of course they most often had their adventures tinged with tragedy, but she preferred to neglect those facts. In any case, she was going to be left home to worry herself sick about their well being. And she didn't think she was strong enough to stay sane through all the worry. She had often thought about just running away, and then finding the three. They couldn't possibly turn her away then…could they?

Noticing that her mother was flaring her nostrils, clearly thinking that Ginny was going to come back with a retort and they would get into yet another heated row, she decided it would be best to respond.

"Fine," She slumped her shoulders in defeat. "I'm staying home. But honestly, isn't it worse being here and not knowing?"

Apparently she had struck a nerve, for her mother suddenly lost all of her strength and let out an exasperated sigh as she slid into a chair at the kitchen table. Ginny noticed that her eyes were starting to redden with the effort of holding long awaited tears in. They were dangerously teetering on the edge, threatening to burst at any moment.

"I'm-I'm sorry," Ginny tried to console Mrs. Weasely as she too, took a seat at the table. "I didn't really mean anything by it…" She trailed off lamely as she started staring at her hands in her lap. She had no idea what to say or do.

"That thought has occurred to me quite a lot lately," Mrs. Weasley suddenly blurted out, although her focus was distant, as if she wasn't really there. "I wont know what's going on or how they are. Especially now that everyone on the clock is pointed to 'mortal peril'. I just don't know anymore…"

Ginny didn't quite know how to comfort her mother. She appeared to be having a breakdown, but it seemed that she was talking to herself more than Ginny.

"Arthur is constantly at the ministry doing God knows what, and if he isn't there, he's out fighting. Charlie, Bill, Fred, and George are already out in the battles, Percy wont have anything to do with us, and Ron is going to be leaving to fight with Harry soon." Here she broke off with a sob. Her tears spilled down her cheeks in a wave of suppressed emotion. It was a while before she had stopped weeping, and wiped her face clean. Ginny just hugged her and reassured her that they were all okay. She didn't know what else to do. It didn't seem like there was anything else she could do.

"I can barely hold it together anymore. I'm just unraveling at the ends," she started to quietly sob into Ginny's shoulder.

Ginny found this quite disconcerting. She had never seen her mother completely broken down like this before. She was always so composed, and sure. But now…

"I keep dreaming that they're going to turn up missing or be found--" she choked on a sob, "found dead on the battle field…or worse." She started weeping full out now. All Ginny could do was rub her back. She wondered for a moment what would be worse than death. She couldn't think of anything. To her, death seemed like it would trump everything else.

After a moment, Mrs. Weasley sat up abruptly, knocking Ginny to the floor, wiped all the lingering tears off her face and walked out of the room mumbling about how she had to wake Ron up for breakfast. Ginny just lay dumbfounded on the floor.

"What the hell just happened?" she asked allowed as she got back off the floor and sat in a chair at the table.

Moments later Ron started to traps down the stairs all groggily eyed. Ginny decided that she'd ask him what would be worse than death in a battle. Although she reasoned with herself that it would be best to not bring up any earlier…events.

Ron was a sight for sore eyes. His hair was untidy, unwashed, and stuck up at all odds and angle's. His pajamas were two sizes to small for him, and sported at least two holes. He looked as though he hadn't slept for even a moment, even though he had gone to bed before anyone else in the house. Ginny reasoned that it was because he had been thinking about what he, Harry, and Hermione would soon be doing. I wouldn't be sleeping very much either if I was him.

"Ron, I have a question," she watched as he slumped into the chair across from him.

"Yea, what is it?" He asked tiredly.

"Well I was wondering…"She wasn't exactly sure of how to put it. "I was wondering what could be worse than death in a war."

He looked at her in surprise. "Why do you want to know that?" he demanded.

"I was just talking to…to Luna, and she said that some things are worse than death. I was wondering what she meant."

"There are many things worse than death Ginny," He stared at the table for a moment in thought. "None of which that I what you to experience, or even know of."

"But I--"

"But since I doubt mum will tell you," he continued as though he was never interrupted. "The responsibility will have to fall to me."

Ginny was starting to wish that she had never asked this question. Just the way it made Ron slightly twitch, and turn completely somber, was enough to scare her. He almost never became this grave, and when he did, he was discussing an attack plan, or listening as others spoke about how they had been attacked.

"There are certain…things that can happen to girls, or women, if they are captured in battle, that would be worse than death." He wiped his face with his hand as he sighed heavily. "Well not only women, but men too. Although it can be worse for the women."

"But what are they?" Ginny asked completely oblivious to the fact that her brother was trying to skirt around the actual subject matter.

"They can be tortured for information, or just tortured because the Death Eaters want some entertainment. But what's worse for the women is that…well…" He trailed off again.

"Is that what?" Ginny still couldn't understand what he was on about.

"Ginny, the women get raped. They're not only tortured by He-Who--by Voldemort, but he gives them to his followers to play with," Ron looked at his little sister wearily. "That's what's worse than death. If you go out into a battle, you don't only have the chance of dieing, but you also have a chance of getting captured and used. That's why mum doesn't want you out there, and why Harry and I don't want you out there." He was quite for a moment. "And not only that, but seeing as you are connected to both of us, you could be used to get to us, and I'd be damned before I let that happen."

"Oh," Ginny was speechless, it didn't even occur to her that she could be raped. Not even in the deepest recesses of her mind. "But if I'm with you wouldn't there be less of a chance that they could capture me?"

"No!" Ron slammed his fist onto the table. "You would be safer here, at home, than out with us. That isn't even a question."

"But what about Hermione? Don't you want her to be safe?" She knew she had crossed a line, but she didn't care.

"You know I'd rather have Hermione anywhere but with me and Harry," He took a deep and heavy sigh, then sat back in the his chair, starring up at the ceiling. "I just can't keep her away. She would follow us to the ends of the earth, I'm sure of it. I have no authority over her. I am worried about her. What could happen to her if she was…captured." He focused back on Ginny. "And because she's with us, they would torture and rape her. I'm sure of it. That's why I don't want you anywhere near us. I don't want to see you put through that, not when I can prevent it."

"But you can't, you can't prevent it," Ginny protested. "I can just as easily be attacked here, and captured or killed. And if I was, I wouldn't even have you guys to protect me. I'd be on my own."

"I know, I have thought about that. But it just seems like it would be safer if you were here. If you were with us, you wouldn't just be the target of peril, but you would be chasing it as well. And maybe it isn't exactly true, but in my mind, it just seems that you would be safer here." He laid his head on the table. "Besides, you wouldn't be alone, you'd have mum. She's a decent fighter."

Suddenly his stomach made a great lurching sound. "Speaking of mum, where is she? I haven't seen her since she woke me up a half an hour ago."

"I…I don't know," Ginny had a sneaking suspicion that their mother was in her bedroom, composing herself for her family.

"Well I'm starting to get kind of hungry," Ron's stomach grumbled again. "Really though Ginny, I didn't mean to scare you, I just thought you should know about what really happens out there. Even what I say is only the half of it. It is still much, much worse. That is why you should stay here and help mum."

"I-I know," Ginny agreed. "It's just that I want to be of help to you guys, and I don't want to sit on the sidelines not knowing about your guys' fate."

"I know Gin, but really, mum needs you. For as strong as she is, I don't think she could take another kid leaving her." He padded her hand across from the table, "It's for the best."


Thanks for reading!! Hope you liked it. Don't forget to review! And I'm working on the updates for all my stories, so they should be up before long. Have a nice day, night, or morning, depending upon when and where you're reading this.

J