CHAPTER ONE

Unfamiliar

Name: Ginevra Molly Weasley

DOB: 11/8/1981

Age: 16

Blood Status: Pureblood

Hogwarts House: Gryffindor

Notes: Under observation - prior association with Undesirable Number 1. Noted as friendly with Muggleborns and suspected allegiance to the Order of the Phoenix. Interrogate at will.

o - o - o - o - o - o - o

It was the first of September, 1997. The sky overhead was thick with an endless canopy of dreary mist, some of which had even slipped inside the open-air pavilion of King's Cross Station. Down below, the Hogwarts Express was preparing for its eleven o'clock departure, and it billowed white steam out over the platform to combine with the already-present mist. Visibility was low, and it was unnaturally cold for late summer. Despite this, sixteen-year-old Ginny Weasley could not help but feel a tiny ray of hope at the sight of the train. It filled her chest with warmth, blossoming upward like a beautiful flower in a field of ash. Exactly five years ago, she stood on this platform with no way of knowing just how terrible things would get. For five blissful minutes on this exact platform, Ginny had been completely and utterly free.

That was certainly not the case today.

Her sudden ray of hope was not strong enough to survive, and it soon flickered out and died like a candle in a high wind. Wonderful memories were hard to hold onto these days, and it was a struggle to be happy with the cloying mist still damp upon her cheek. She shifted her school bag higher up on her shoulder, and resigned herself to this new fate, which she figured was worse than death. Ginny did not want to go to school, and she definitely did not want to spend nearly ten months locked in a castle while her family risked their lives in the war.

She considered all of this and more as she drew nearer to the scarlet steam engine. Before she could get close enough to board, however, someone thrust their arm out to block her way.

"Hold up," said a man with a stern voice. "No adults on the platform."

Ginny looked up at him. He was a rigid bloke, with dark hair and a pockmarked face. Although he looked bored and slightly annoyed by the bustle of the platform, he gave her such a scrutinizing look that she felt as though ice had slipped down her esophagus. He wore long sleeves.

"Fine," she said.

Her father, however, stepped forward. "Who's going to help her lift her trunk onto the train?"

"Don't care," said the man. "No adults on the platform."

Arthur Weasley looked as though he wanted to say something more, but decided against it. They couldn't afford to draw any unnecessary attention today, especially with her brother mysteriously absent from their company. Her father seemed to remember this particular disadvantage and he drew back. Other parents were making the same mistake, and Ginny saw several of her classmates linger on the threshold in confusion and uncertainty. They might have been kids, yes, but they certainly weren't stupid.

"It's okay, Dad," she said, lowering her voice. "I can handle it."

"I know you can."

There was something strange about pretending to be happy when the world was falling apart, because Ginny Weasley was smiling, glowing even. Her long red hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and there was a hint of makeup around her soft brown eyes. She certainly didn't feel happy, or even particularly excited, but she wanted to make sure that if today was the last time she ever saw her father, then at least he would remember her smiling face. She adjusted her grip on the wire cage that held Arnold the Pygmy Puff.

This was it. This was the goodbye.

"Alright, Dad, I'll see you at Christmas," she said.

He nodded, sweat standing out on his upper lip. "Okay, Gin-Gin. If anything happens, please let me know and I'll get you as soon as I can."

"Right," Ginny said. There was no way her father would ever be able to reach her in an emergency. They both knew that. "And if you hear anything, please let me know."

"Just the way we talked about, I promise."

Ginny took one long, last look at her father, and then she turned to go. The man who had barred her way finally stepped aside. His dark eyes followed her suspiciously as she dragged her trunk across the platform. She didn't have to struggle long, though, because someone came running to meet her halfway.

"Neville!" she exclaimed.

She dropped her trunk on the ground and opened her arms up for a hug. Neville, who had grown significantly over the summer, had to bend to reach her. Ginny felt immensely pleased to be reunited with him. It had been several months since they had last seen each other, and a lot of things had happened in that space of time.

"Hey, Ginny!" he said once they had broken apart. "How are you?"

She tried not to let her smile falter. "I'm doing well."

"Do you need help with your trunk? Luna's already got us a compartment."

"I would appreciate that, thank you!" she said, glancing back over her shoulder. Ginny could just barely see her father in the crowd, but then a new wave of students passed between them, and she could see him no more.

I'm a Gryffindor, she thought forcefully. I can do this. I have to do this!

She turned away again.

There were Death Eaters all over the platform. Ginny recognized some of the faces from the files her parents had for the Order of the Phoenix (not that she was allowed to look at those, of course), and she felt a stab of anger at watching them walk freely through the wide-eyed and innocent first years. These people were wanted criminals, some of them even dangerous murderers, and yet people did nothing to stop them. Everyone acted as though nothing were wrong, but Ginny could spot the discontented if she looked hard enough: students whispering, parents arguing, a small child crying silently…

This year, the students were only allowed to board from one door on the train, and there was a line to check in at the front...a line that was moving too slowly for the shrinking time until departure. This was new and unfamiliar. She exchanged a look with Neville, who raised his eyebrows as if to say, I know.

"Name?" asked the man with the clipboard when it was their turn to board.

"You already got me," said Neville. "See? Right here."

The man looked up and glared at him. "You shouldn't have gotten off the train."

"I'm getting back on. I had to help my friend."

Ginny could see the muscle in the man's jaw twitch as if he longed to react. He must have decided that Neville was not worth his time, because he turned his eyes to look at her instead. "Name?"

"Ginevra Weasley."

There was a sharp inhale of recognition, and the man's eyes darted to her red hair and then did a sweep around the platform. They must have been debriefed about people of interest, because he inclined his head ever so slightly, and another Death Eater came forward to listen. Ginny continued to stand tall, but her mouth had gone very dry.

"Where's your brother?"

"Can't come this year," she replied. "He's sick with Spattergroit. We had to submit an official documentation of the disease, and they sent someone from the Ministry out to confirm. You can check with them if you don't believe me."

His eyes narrowed. "I will decide who to talk with if I don't believe you, Miss Weasley. It's rather convenient, don't you think?"

"Convenient? You think it's convenient that my brother is sick? We think the fungus has already moved to his brain, and he's likely to have permanent damage even if he does make a full recovery. If you want to go on being doubtful, I rather hope you'll go see him for yourself and get sick as well!"

She ended her words with an indignant huff. Neville, thankfully, kept his head down and his eyes averted. The Death Eater held his gaze for a moment, and then turned to the other man on his right. "Check to confirm her story," he said in an undertone. "Alright, Miss Weasley. We shall see if you're telling the truth. Go ahead for now."

Ginny wanted to say what she was really thinking, but she swallowed her words. It would not do for her to get into trouble before she even got to the castle, and anyway, the look Neville gave her clearly reflected his desire to be reunited with Luna. So she smiled, a painful and forced grimace on her face, and followed Neville onto the train. They struggled down the narrow hallway, shouldering past a few unnaturally quiet students before reaching a compartment near the back of the train. Sitting on the floor of the train car, amidst a pile of her father's magazines, was Luna Lovegood. She looked up at their arrival, blue eyes crinkling with delight.

"Ginny!" she exclaimed, pulling herself up to give a hug. "So good to see you!"

For a moment, Ginny lost herself in the embrace. Luna was an expert at giving good hugs, no matter the circumstance, and she had been there the night everything went downhill. Luna understood. Luna always understood.

"Was the rest of your summer okay?" Ginny asked the Ravenclaw.

"Strangely quiet. Daddy says that the Heliopaths are rampaging because Scimgeour didn't have a chance to tell the Death Eaters to feed them chicken and not beef before he was murdered. Heliopaths shoot fire fifty feet in the air when they are angry, so I imagine the Ministry is having to prioritize. Was everything okay at your house?"

"No," Ginny admitted. "We need to talk."

"Let's wait until we get moving at least," Neville said cautiously, glancing out into the hallway.

Ginny scoffed, the first real display of discontent that she had allowed herself all day. "What do they think they're playing at, taking up all this time? It's five after eleven, and they haven't even gotten everyone on the train yet. Idiots."

"They're looking for Harry," said Luna quietly.

"Do they really think he's that dumb?" she said, rolling her eyes.

"I don't think they know him at all," replied Neville. His arms were crossed, and he looked morose. "They've just been told to keep their eyes out for him."

"Where is Ronald?" Luna asked, as if suddenly realizing that Ginny's older brother was mysteriously absent.

Ginny stared pointedly at her friend. "He's sick. Came down with a terrible case of Spattergroit."

"Ah," said Luna. "Quite dreadful. I'll send him a card."

They lapsed into a nervous silence. Confined in such a small space, Ginny felt agitated. She sat on the floor next to Luna, who had gone back to sorting her magazines, but she could feel the same uncomfortable energy mirrored in her posture. Neville tapped his foot, watching every person who walked past their compartment. The minutes continued to slip away. It was now twenty after eleven, and they had still not left the station.

"Attention all," said a grumpy voice over the intercom system. "This is the last call. The train will be departing in five minutes time. Anyone not on board will be regretfully left behind."

"Funny," Neville said humorlessly. "Looks like the conductor is unhappy as well."

There was a scramble outside the train as the Death Eaters rushed to get everyone on board. Ginny watched them push frightened first years through the door, hastily checking off names as if their lives depended on it...which it probably did, now that she seriously considered it. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was not known to be forgiving when it came to careless mistakes. Ginny knew that from experience.

Neville frowned when one of the Death Eaters pulled the door shut behind them. "Are they coming with us?" he asked.

"Yes," Luna replied. "Didn't you see the newspaper this morning?"

"I only looked at the headlines. Didn't feel up to reading anything."

"They are a task force to protect us," said Luna. "Apparently, our new Headmaster Snape hired them along with two professors."

"Two?" Neville asked. "Defense Against the Dark Arts and what other subject?"

Ginny exchanged a look with Luna. "Muggle Studies. Professor Burbage retired early."

"Retired or...retired?" he asked in a careful voice.

"I think the latter."

The train jolted forward, letting out a piercing whistle. Ginny pushed herself up into a seat and watched the crowd of parents wave from their required distance. She couldn't see her father in the group, but then again, he had probably already gone back to work. It wasn't like he had much of a choice. Working for the Ministry meant that he was under constant supervision, and he couldn't afford to look suspicious with so many people watching his every move.

Neville finally pulled the door shut until the latch clicked, muffling the sound of voices in the corridor. "We can talk now."

"No, we can't," Ginny said. She had drawn her wand. "Muffliato — now we can talk."

"What spell was that?" asked Luna, also pulling herself up to sit on a seat.

Ginny was in the process of pulling out a deck of cards from the depths of her bag. Weasley Wizard Wheezes was emblazoned on the front of the package, and she ripped off the shrink wrap that encased it. "It muffles conversation so nobody can overhear what you are saying. Ron taught it to me over the summer. Cards anyone? Looks less suspicious."

"Where is Ron?" Neville asked.

"With Harry. Where else would he be?"

"And Hermione?"

"Same. Although the cover story is that we don't know where she is at all. She's gone missing, so we assume that she left the country with her parents."

Luna shuffled the cards. Her normal dreamy expression was somewhat withdrawn today. "Like Hermione Jean Granger would ever flee the country at a time like this…"

"I know," Neville replied. "It's extremely unbelievable."

Ginny frowned at them. "Which is why we're just going to shrug and shake our heads. If they think we know anything, you can guarantee they'll try to force it out of us."

"I'd like to see them try," came Neville's mumbled reply. Ginny chose to ignore that.

"Philosopher's Folly?" Luna asked, referencing a popular card game.

They shrugged, and she passed out the cards: three face-down, three face-up, and three in the hand for each of them. Ginny almost laughed at her options. She always had rotten luck with this card game, and she was sure it was the perfect metaphor for her life. "Anyway, Luna, how did you and your dad get away from the Death Eaters after Bill's wedding?"

"Got lucky, I suppose," she said. "After Dad had that fight, I took him to your garden to see the gnomes. We heard screaming, and he did not want to take any chances. So we left immediately."

Neville played the first card. "Wait...what happened at the wedding?"

"Towards the end of the reception, we got word from Kingsley Shacklebolt that the Ministry had fallen," Ginny said, shivering at the memory. "It was at that point that all our protection spells broke. A bunch of Death Eaters and Ministry worker — honestly, they're all the same now — just stormed the wedding. There was dueling, and a bunch of people got hurt. Harry, Ron, and Hermione managed to get away, but it was close."

"You're supposed to play a lower card there," Luna said.

Ginny switched the cards moodily. "Right."

"They were searching for Harry?"

"Yep," she said. "Wanted for the murder of Albus Dumbledore."

Surprisingly, Luna laughed. Ginny was used to her friend laughing at odd moments, but she could not find the humor in those words at all. In fact, the whole situation made her feel slightly nauseous. She waited patiently until Luna was calm once more before giving her a pointed look. The Ravenclaw brushed the tears from her eyes and then said, in a slightly breathless voice: "It was so predictable, wasn't it? Daddy guessed what they were going to do long before it happened. He called it poor journalism. The Daily Prophet really hurt their long-term chances."

"I don't really care about the newspaper, Luna," said Ginny grumpily.

"Of course," said Luna. "But don't you get it? By going down such a drastic route, they've created confusion and doubt for their readers. We've had an increase in sales since that printing. The Quibbler only prints the truth."

"Isn't your dad worried?" Neville asked.

"The truth is more important than safety."

They continued to half-heartedly play cards for the better part of an hour. Outside the train window, the busy streets of London faded away to suburban houses, and then to fields of green pastures dotted with sheep. The pale sun continued to struggle behind the clouds, but the sinister mist had still not dissipated in the warmth of late summer. Somewhere in the far distance, Ginny could see what looked like a pair of Dementors gliding along an empty country road. She had heard the reports that they were growing in numbers, but this was the first time she had seen a real one since her second year.

They looked disconcerting; a blot on the otherwise lovely English countryside. For the most part, the dark creatures ignored them zooming past in the scarlet steam engine, but for a split second, Ginny could have sworn one of them looked in her direction. A chill ran down her spine, and the memory of a cold voice in her head forced her to look away in fear.

Meanwhile, Luna was counting cards.

"Wait," she said. "I think we skipped a turn."

"It's okay, I wasn't really paying attention either," replied Neville. "Maybe we should play something else? Ginny?"

She blinked, jumping at the sound of her own name. Unable to keep up with the speed of the train, the Dementors were no longer visible through the window. Neither Neville nor Luna had noticed, but Ginny had sinking feeling that it would not be the last time she saw them.

"Yeah sure, whatever," she said.

"Are you okay?" Luna asked.

Ginny thought about the question. For a split second, she had heard the voice of Tom in her head. Quiet and unassuming, it was the exact essence of self-assurance. It had been years since she had heard his voice. In fact, the last time she had heard it had been when the Dementors stormed the Quidditch match four years ago, nearly killing Harry in the process.

"I'm fine, sorry," she said. "I got distracted by something outside."

"Really? Was it one of those Heliopaths? I told you they were misbehaving."

Ginny couldn't remember what a Heliopath was supposed to be, so she just shook her head. "No, sorry. It was just some sheep. I'll be right back, though. I need to get a drink for my lunch."

Neville nodded, but he did not look very reassured. Ginny had the distinct impression that he saw straight through her fib, and she avoided his gaze while she slipped through the door of their compartment. Not many other students were lingering in the corridor, but there was a window open, and a fresh breeze tugged at her clothes. She took a deep breath and momentarily closed her eyes.

Ginny had been worried about seeing Dementors, not because she was weak right now, but because they made her think back to that one time when she had actually considered herself to be weak. It wasn't something she liked to talk about, but there was still that dark corner of her mind that was susceptible to irrational fears. Tom had done that to her. Ginny was probably the only person on this train to understand the true power and influence that You-Know-Who had over people. In five years, it felt like the entirety of Hogwarts had all but forgotten that she had been forced to do horrible things under his possession.

She found the food trolley closer toward the front of the train, and Ginny waited patiently behind a few other students as the lady finished dolling out sweets to a few nervous first years. George had generously given her some pocket money that morning for the ride, and she pulled out the handful of coins from her money purse. One of the Knuts dropped to the floor and rolled under the foot of the person in front of her.

"Hey," she said, tapping the girl on the shoulder. "Can you get that for me?"

The girl flinched and recoiled from her hand, but she quickly bent to retrieve the coin anyway. It was at this moment that Ginny realized she had never seen this girl before in her life, even though they were close in age. This newcomer was small and mousey, with straight blonde hair. Behind thick glasses, her eyes were brown. She avoided Ginny's gaze as she handed back the coin.

"Thank you," Ginny said. "I'm not sure if we've met before. What's your name?"

"Heather," she replied in a timid voice. "I'm Heather Barnett."

"Nice to meet you, Heather. My name is Ginny Weasley. Are you new?"

The boy in front of them tried to purchase thirty chocolate frogs at once, and when the food trolley lady protested, he put up a fuss. Heather shrank away from the raised voices. "Yeah, I was homeschooled."

"Oh right," Ginny said. "It's the law now."

Heather nodded, looking thoroughly uncomfortable. Ginny felt inexplicably sorry for her, all alone on a train to a school she felt no personal connection toward. Even faced with the horror of this upcoming year, at least Ginny knew and loved Hogwarts unlike anything else. Plus, she had Neville and Luna, and the three of them could face anything the Death Eaters had to throw at them.

"Look," she continued. "If you ever need someone to hang out with or talk to, you should come find me, no questions asked."

"Thanks," said Heather.

"Do you know what house you'll be in?" Ginny asked.

"No idea. They said I'd get sorted with the first years."

"Oh," Ginny said, trying not to cringe. That sounded humiliating. "It's super easy. Don't worry, and don't let anyone try to trick you. All you do is put on the magical hat, and it tells you what house you are supposed to be in. Simple and quick."

"Thanks for the heads up."

The boy in front of them left with the much more reasonable amount of fifteen chocolate frogs, and Heather paid for her own sweets with a handful of coins from the pocket of her robes. Ginny watched her walk slowly back down the corridor; the girl's steps were uneven in the swaying train car and her posture timid. The Hogwarts Express rounded a corner, and Heather Barnett disappeared from view. Ginny turned her eyes back to the food trolley and reached for a bottle of ice cold pumpkin juice.

"Well, if it isn't Weasley," said a voice.

Ginny's jerked her head up at the sound of her name, suddenly very conscious of the fact that her wand was still tucked up the sleeve of her jacket. Pansy Parkinson was flanked by her usual tittering clique of girlfriends, including several of the Slytherin girls from Ginny's year. Last term, they would not have dared approach her while she was on top of the world. Then again, Ginny had snagged the Quidditch victory and kissed the most popular boy in school. Times had certainly changed.

"Good afternoon, Pansy," she replied coldly. The food trolley lady was looking back and forth between the two girls in apprehension.

"I see you are cozying up to the fresh meat. Are you that desperate to find new friends?"

Ginny paid for her drink and dropped the bottle into her bag. If there was going to be a fight, she wanted quick access to her wand. Heck, even if there was not going to be any action, she wanted the option anyway. "Just making small talk. It's called being nice. You should try it."

"Where's your boyfriend?" Pansy asked, a triumphant smile on her pug-nosed face.

The cash register on the trolley cart dinged loudly, and Ginny was handed back her change. The lady cleared her throat. "If you two are going to fight, I would suggest you do it elsewhere. It's too crowded in here for you to keep backing up the line."

"I don't have a boyfriend anymore, Pansy," Ginny replied, as if she hadn't heard the older woman. "We broke up in June, don't you remember? It's old news. I thought you of all people would know that. Don't you consider gossip to be a higher priority than your schoolwork?"

Pansy's eyes narrowed. "You're just mad that he broke up with you first. Where is he hiding? How come they haven't found him yet?"

"Do you think I'd be allowed to walk around freely if I knew that? Speaking of which, where is your boyfriend?"

"You don't know what you're talking about," snapped the Slytherin, although her face had flushed with color. Ginny had hit a nerve; it was common knowledge among the girls at Hogwarts that Draco Malfoy and Pansy had also broken up at the end of last year.

"Probably not," Ginny replied, shrugging. "Although he probably has a better selection of girls now. I bet raping and pillaging comes as an added bonus when you're a…"

Pansy Parkinson pulled out her wand with an angry exclamation, but Ginny was faster. If there was one thing she had learned from all those D.A. lessons with Harry, it was how to disarm. Pansy's wand ricocheted off the wall with a shower of sparks.

"You're on the wrong side, Weasley," Pansy said, her face white with anger.

"Don't come near me at all this semester," Ginny said warningly. "Don't talk to me, don't talk about me, don't even think about me...or I'll hex you so bad you won't know what hit you. I mean it."

The lady behind the cart was trying her best not to notice the situation, even though a wand had come dangerously close to striking her in the head. Ginny, who didn't want to wait around until someone fetched the Death Eaters, hurried off back to the compartment. She was still holding her wand when she slid back through the door. Neville looked up.

"I was worried. What took you so long?"

"Long line," she mumbled. Neville and Luna were no longer alone; several other people had joined them. Hannah Abbott, Ernie Macmillan, Lavender Brown, Seamus Finnegan, Terry Boot, and the Patil twins all looked up at her as she entered. It was very crowded in their compartment now. Ginny squeezed into the seat next to Luna, sitting hip to hip with her best friend.

"Neville told us that Ron's sick," Lavender said.

There was an awkward pause while they waited for Ginny's response. She crossed her arms, still sour from her earlier confrontation with Pansy, and nodded. "Yep, too sick to come to school."

"So are we just going to speak in riddles this year?" Ernie Macmillan asked loudly.

"Maybe," she replied. "Or maybe I'm just reiterating the fact that you need to keep your big mouth shut and not tell everyone that he's on some dangerous mission."

"Oh," said Ernie quietly. Ginny had always had mixed feelings about the Hufflepuff, who, according to the badge on his chest, had been named Head Boy for the year. His heart was in the right place, of course, but he was pompous to the point of being annoying. They were, however, lucky that he was in a position of authority. His unquestionable loyalty might come in handy throughout the school year. Ginny quickly amended her facial expression, trying not to seem as angry as her words had conveyed.

"Sorry," she said. "It's been a rough day."

"Yeah, it's been a horrible day for us too," said Hannah. "Justin wasn't allowed to come back to school. We only just found out."

Ernie's face fell. He looked quite sad. "I hope he's okay."

"The Creevey brothers weren't allowed back either."

"And Dean," Seamus quickly added. He looked nearly as upset about this fact as Ernie did about Justin. Neville patted his one remaining roommate on the arm in sympathy.

Ginny glanced around at them, noticing the tightness and the desperation in their eyes. "It's that stupid law. There are a bunch of new homeschooled students on this train who have never been to Hogwarts before. I met a girl around our age, and she was completely alone. That's not fair! I don't know how the government has been able to force this much injustice, but I think everyone is suffering."

"You don't suppose they are hurting the Muggleborns, do you?" Parvati Patil asked quietly.

Neville looked at Ginny, who shrugged in a helpless sort of way.

"I hope not."

They lapsed into a silence at those words, each of them imagining the horrors that could befall their friends if the government actually wanted to hurt all the Muggleborns. It couldn't be true, Ginny thought, but then again, she had already seen enough evidence to suggest the worst. Around her birthday, she had received a letter from Colin saying that he would be "living with relatives" until further notice, but she had no idea where that could be. She wondered if he and his little brother Dennis were still safe, and if they had somehow managed to avoid the inquiries Ginny's father often talked about at the dinner table. The thought of Colin stealing magic was preposterous; the boy didn't have a single maleficent bone in his body.

"Well," Ernie said, clearing his throat. "I'm sure we are all thinking the same thing right now…"

Really? Ginny thought, fighting the urge to roll her eyes.

"...and I was wondering if we were going to do anything about it."

Neville blinked. "What do you mean?"

"I think you know what I mean," said Ernie. He was trying to be discreet, but his tone of voice came across as unintentionally superfluous. Luna, who had been watching the clouds roll past outside their window, turned her head to finally look at them. Her large blue eyes were unblinking.

"The D.A.?" she asked.

Ginny might have imagined it, but every single person in their compartment sat up a little straighter. She glanced across the way at Neville, who, judging by the mix of emotions on his face, had also been considering that very thought.

"But we can't do it without…" she said. Although the words started out in an indignant rush, they died before she even got to Harry's name. The thought of holding meetings without him felt almost like blasphemy.

"Sure we can!" said Seamus while Terry Boot nodded enthusiastically on his left.

Lavender frowned. "But it was Harry's idea in the first place."

"Technically, it was Ron and Hermione," Ginny added. "But that's not the point. We don't have a teacher anymore."

"Plus," Neville said. "We don't even know how bad things are going to be. For all we know, this could just be a very uneventful year for us."

Ginny thought that might have been stretching it, but she could tell that Neville did not fully believe his words either. They had already seen enough proof just that morning while boarding the train. In fact, the evidence was walking the corridors right now, prowling with dark looks and long sleeves that covered sinister tattoos. She shuddered involuntarily, feeling as though the air had dropped by several degrees.

It was not just her, though. Hannah Abbott unconsciously rubbed her bare arms and Seamus shivered. Ginny stood up with an exclamation, but before she had the chance to draw her wand, the train pitched backwards as though it had been jerked in the opposite direction. Ginny fell back against her seat, landing on Luna and the Patil Twins. On the other side, Neville had fallen onto the floor.

The train stuttered to a halt, wobbling side-to-side as the occupants were thrown around violently. When they finally came to a complete stop, Ginny could hear cries of pain out in the corridor. She hoped no one was seriously injured.

The intercom buzzed overhead. They could hear the conductor swearing and shouting at someone in the background. "Attention, attention," said a smooth voice. "This is a mandatory search for any dangerous items being smuggled on board. Please stand and follow all instructions."

Ginny untangled herself from Luna, standing just in time to help Neville to his feet. The sky had been growing steadily darker, but now a cold wind rattled the windows as clouds rolled overhead. A black shape darted outside the window, moving too quickly to discern. Lavender let out a little shriek of fear.

"Dementors!" shouted Neville.

And then Ginny's vision went dark.