[Summary]: Ginny and the remaining members of Dumbledore's Army come together again to bring down the Carrows and reclaim Hogwarts. Along the way, they make some unexpected friends.

[TW]: Assault, Pedophilia, Violence, Swearing (Will add as included)

[Disclaimer]: All characters are not mine and belong to JK Rowling.

Ginny was so screwed. She knew it when Amycus Carrow slammed some first year up against the wall. She knew it right when the two small words - "Stop that!" - escaped her mouth. If she hadn't known it before, it certainly hit her when he turned his cold, brown eyes on her.

"What did you say?" he growled. She was silent, but held her chin up stubbornly. She'd already thrown in the towel, so she might as well go down with a fight. "Answer me, girl!" His hold on the tiny Hufflepuff lessened, and she dropped to the ground before scrambling around the corner.

"I said to stop," she said bravely. The man's eyebrows shot up. Ever since he'd been appointed Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts (though Ginny's opinion was that they should drop the first half and just refer to it as the Dark Arts) he and his sister had been terrorizing the school. They had no morals, which meant no boundaries. She'd heard a Ravenclaw in her year telling her friend how she'd been felt up by the middle aged Death Eater as she tried to get to class.

"I don't answer to a Weasley," he spat. A bullet of ice cold fear hit her in the chest, and she stayed quiet. Her original plan to argue died as soon as she saw the sick grin on his face. "Mhm...a very pretty Weasley, too." She held back a gag as he moved closer, his eyes trained up and down her body, seeming to look straight through her jeans and t-shirt. She stood her ground. "Pity you're a blood traitor." Accompanying the last syllable, he reached out and shoved her against the wall. She gasped as her head hit the stone wall. Her hand went to her hair. No blood - thank Merlin.

He loomed over her, a sadistic smile across his face. He leaned in, tugging a piece of her fiery hair. "Wouldn't want to ruin my blood, would we?" In one final act of rebellion, she spit in his eye. He reeled backwards, swiping at his face is disgust.

"Fuck you!" She screamed, spinning around and sprinting back the way that she came. She wasn't fast enough; a curse hit her on her back and she froze with one foot still off the ground. Her heart seemed to be beating up in her throat. She couldn't turn to see where he was, but she could hear him approaching her. The footsteps stopped, and she could feel his hot breath on her neck. She didn't think that she'd ever been so scared.

"You dirty, filthy, sorry excuse for a pureblood. You don't deserve to be in this school any more than those mudbloods do. When the school is cleansed, you'll be one of the first to get tossed out on your arse." She blanched as he talked about cleansing. "By then, the name of Weasley will be as repulsive as something as common as Johnson." He moved to her front, so that she could see him, and grinned repulsively down at her. "But the question is, what do I do with you now?" Her throat went dry. "Crucio."

The pain hit Ginny like a bullet, spreading down every nerve of her body like a swarm of angry bees. She'd never felt that much pain before; the things Tom had cast on her in the Chamber felt like a papercut in comparison. She was floating down a river of pain, and it seemed to last hours, until all at once, it stopped. "Carrow." The voice was unfamiliar, and seemed like it came from the other end of a tunnel.

"Malfoy." Her vision slowly came into focus, but the blond's hard face didn't reassure her. If anything, she expected worse. "What're you doing here?" the professor continued in a more civilized tone. "You're a long way from the dungeons." They were on the second floor, just a few turns away from the Gryffindor common room.

"I was talking to your sister, not that that's any of your concern." His voice was cold. "What're you doing with the Weasley girl?" His stone grey eyes flickered upwards and met hers for the shortest moment, before darting back to the professor.

"She got in my way. Taught her a lesson."

"Well your little demonstration is done now; let her go."

"I don't think that's your call, Malfoy. I'm the teacher here, not you."

Malfoy took a step towards the older man, and Ginny watched with a bated breath. What was he doing? "I'm sure my father would love to hear about how you're violating one of the rules clearly stated by the Dark Lord: no Unforgivables. He'd surely pass that right along to him."

The professor gave a sharp intake of breath. "Right then," he muttered, almost shamefully, while his eyes inspected the ground. He waved his wand, and she could move again. Her legs, feeling like a pot of jello, collapsed under her and she sprawled against the ground. She could see her hands quivering a bit from the Cruciatus, and she gulped in a deep breath as she hauled herself off the floor. Her heart was still going a million miles an hour, and she was as sore as she was after her Quidditch workouts. "Give your father my best." He turned and stalked down the hallway.

"Bloody idiot,' Malfoy snorted, "doesn't even keep up to date."

"Wh-" Her voice cracked, and she cleared her throat. "What d'you mean by that?" She clambered to her feet, not wanting the Slytherin to be standing over her. She realized that though she'd heard loads from her brother and his friends, she hadn't directly talked to Malfoy since her first year.

"Can you walk, Weasley?" He looked her up and down, and Ginny felt weak. It was obvious that he picked up on how her knees shook, and that she couldn't seem to stop her hands from fisting at her side. He was emotionless; Ginny felt like she was speaking to a wall.

She glowered at him, internally trying to pick apart what he meant by that, and why he even felt the need to ask her. "I'm fine, just answer my bloody question."

He raised an eyebrow. "The Cruciatus is pretty rough," he observed, "just thought you'd be a bit more shook up by it, that's all." She was, and she knew she was on the verge of tears, but she wasn't about to give him the satisfaction by telling him that. She pushed the panic to the back of her mind.

"I'm fine."

He eyed her skeptically, but didn't press further. What I meant, is that he's awfully thick." Doesn't even realize that I don't have any power anymore. Probably so dim, he hasn't heard that I've deserted yet." He snorted again, and turned to leave.

Her jaw dropped. "Wait a second, you git," her mind whirled, trying to gather her thoughts. "Are you telling me that you left You-Know-Who?"

He started at her for a moment, expressionless. Finally, he nodded. "Damn right I did. I'm not mad, Weasley. Even the biggest blockhead can see that your little Order is going to win this. Don't get the wrong idea - I'm not about to come galloping to join your merry band of miscreants. There's no way in hell that I'm helping Potter, so get that out of your head right now."

Her eyebrows raised. "That's not what I was thinking." She knew that he'd rather be picked apart by cockroaches than help Harry, and she didn't really blame him. "Just surprised, that's all."

He nodded, and moved to leave again, but paused. "I'd appreciate it if you kept this between us," he said uncomfortably. "I'd rather not have people hoarding me as soon as I get out of bed in the morning."

She nodded haltingly. "Yeah, fine. Whatever." She watched his blonde head saunter down the hall before turning back towards her own dormitory. She passed through the common room, keeping her head down. She didn't feel like talking to anyone, because if she did she would probably break down. By the time she slithered into her four poster bed, she was in a full blown panic.

The twitching had - thankfully - stopped, so her nerves probably weren't too messed up. The pain was nonexistent, just an ache, really. It wasn't so much the physical effects so much as the knowledge that someone had just used the Cruciatus on her. A bloody Unforgivable. She put her head into her hands and felt her fingers damped with tears. It had her going back to her wretched first year at Hogwarts, when she'd had an unwelcome guest in her mind. She could still remember everything up to when he'd drained her power. She'd been down there for hours before Harry swooped in. Unbeknownst to her, Tom had been slowly taking from her magic reserves. By the time he had escaped from the diary, he had twice as much as her.

He hadn't tortured her, but he'd used her as his lab rat for the short time she'd been down there. The memories were still vivid; she could almost feel the stinging hex he'd cast on her countless times. Granted, it wasn't a very painful spell, but it had been hell to her eleven year old self. Up until then, she'd never had contact with magic that had been trying to hurt her.

But that, even with the bad memories attached, was nothing compared to what she'd experienced today. She shuddered, and clutched her knees up to her chest. She fell asleep in that position, Carrow's haunting grin plastered to her eyelids.

The second Ginny woke up she felt different. She was strong, steady, and really bloody angry. She didn't feel like crying or staying in bed; she wanted to get up and find revenge. She pulled back her curtains to see the time - 8:12. It was Saturday, so she had the day to do whatever she wanted.

She was dressed and had a plan by 8:30. Step one of that plan was to find Colin, her best friend, and fill him in on what happened. Knowing him, he was already in the Great Hall stuffing himself with breakfast. He had an appetite that challenged Ron's, which wasn't an easy feat. Reviewing things in her head, she went down to the Hall. She scanned Gryffindor table and found Colin and Neville. Two birds with one stone - finding Neville was step two.

"Hello," she said cheerfully, sliding beside Colin. "How's it going?"

"Gin." Colin waved his piece of toast in the air. "Please remind Neville that I have never fancied Harry Potter."

Ginny snorted. "There's a fat chance of me lying for you. You know as well as I do that our first year of friendship was mostly due to a bloody Harry Potter fan club." In their third year, they'd bonded over Colin's photos - mainly his Harry collection.

His jaw dropped. "Was not!"

"Was too! Remember that one you had?" She paused to think. "Right - in his Quidditch things! It was raining, and I remember you telling me how marvelous his eyes were."

"Sounds like you fancied him, mate," Neville laughed.

"I did not. I know the first bloke I fancied, and it was bloody well not him."

"Who was it then? Out with it!" Ginny loved to talk about boys with Colin. Most of her friends were boys, and weren't into talking about their love life beyond who shagged who. Colin, however, could gush about his latest focus for hours.

He turned slightly red, and didn't say a word. Ginny punched him playfully on the shoulder. "Come on, Col! I was besotted with Harry for years - it can't be any worse than that."

"Out with it, Creevey!" Neville threw in laughingly. "You know we don't judge."

"It's embarrassing. Besides, I don't kiss and tell."

Ginny's eyebrows shot up. "One, you know as well as I do that that's not true. And two, now I have to hear this."

"Oh, bugger," Colin ducked his head to hide his blush. "Blaise Zabini. It was third year, right after I turned fourteen. We were in detention and he kissed me out of the blue, and then ran off. Haven't spoke to him since. The end."

Neville whistled. "Blaise Zabini. You've got more game than me and Ginny combined."

"Hey!" She kicked his foot under the table. "Speak for yourself, Longbottom. I'm quite a catch."

They silenced for a moment, and she focused on picking apart her muffin. She racked her brain for how to start the conversation, but came up blank. She had half a mind to just jump in and announce last night's happenings, but that wouldn't go over well at all. "So," she blurted out a bit too loudly. "I have an idea."

"Yeah?"

"I had a bit of a run in with a Carrow last night, and -"

"A run in?" Colin interrupted. "What d'you mean by that?" She noticed the little crease he got between his eyebrows when he worried.

"Oh, it was nothing," she said hurriedly. "He was threatening some first year, and I stopped him, and he might've cursed me. But it's nothing."

"Ginny," Neville said sternly, "tell us what he did, or I swear to Merlin -"

"He used the Cruciatus," she said quietly, before hurrying forward. "Don't you worry - I intend to get revenge."

Colin hit his hand on the table, and leapt from his seat. "What the hell?" He yelled.

She pulled him back into his seat and hissed, "Shut up, you idiot. People are staring."

"Let them! Ginny, he used an Unforgivable on you! You can't just let him - are you okay?"

"I'm fine, mom," she replied, dryly, "and I'm not letting him get away with it. I have a plan. After breakfast, we're going to gather a bunch of us - Dean, Seamus, Parvati and Padma, Michael, Terry, and anyone else you can think of. People from DA that we can trust."

Neville let a small grin spread across his face. "Are we re-opening DA?"

"In a way, yes." Ginny grinned mischievously as well, not hiding her excitement.

The meeting in the library was a bit of a disappointment to Ginny. They had enough, but not nearly as many as two years ago. Most had graduated, or simply not come back to Hogwarts. Others, such as the Patils, flat out refused to take part because of the risk. Nethertheless, they'd managed to gather up five others, making eight. She supposed it could be a good thing - it was easier to congregate when there weren't thirty of them.

"Alright." She cleared her throat, and glanced anxiously around the library. No one seemed to be looking at them, but it wouldn't be good to be caught before they'd even gotten started. "We all know everyone, so no need for introductions. You're probably all wanting the details, so I'll just get on with it."

She pulled out a piece of parchment. "You're obviously aware of the situation. The last time we met, we were sneaking around with a grumpy Ministry employee. This year, We're going to be going about under the noses of trained Death Eaters. The thing I need to stress most here is that it'll be more dangerous than last time, and you need to take that into account when you agree to help. That being said, we're not going to be learning anything this year; we're going to be fighting back. The Carrows need to be taken down, and we're going to be doing that. Any questions?"

There was a brief silence, and Ginny shifted feet uncomfortably. "Well," Luna said thoughtfully, "I'd rather like to know what we'd be doing. I saw some Nargles, you see, so I'd like to make sure they weren't bad luck."

She could see some of the others trying not to laugh. They all adored Luna, but no one quite understood the things she talked about. "Valid question," Colin jumped in. "We wouldn't start with anything too risky. Just pranks, and the like. Our objective is to make them as uncomfortable as possible, try and rattle them up a bit. Things like the puking pastilles that the twins make, but without the other half."

"When do we start?" Dean asked.

"As soon as we can," Ginny responded. "We'll be using the Room of Requirement again, as our base. We'll send out a message through the DA coins within the next week, I reckon. If you all have still have those, that is." They all mumbled in acknowledgement. She sighed gladly - she wasn't sure she knew how to make any more. "Alright, that's it, then. We'll let you lot know the details."

She let out a deep breath and fell back into the chair as the rest streamed out of the library, talking quietly. She noticed Dean hanging back, and grimaced. They'd broke up about five months ago, but it hadn't ended well. He'd been convinced that she was still interested in Harry (which she wasn't) and they had a massive row. They hadn't talked since.

"Hey, Gin," he said. He leaned awkwardly against a shelf. She gave him a quick once-over; he looked as good as ever. "How're you?"

She let a brief smile flit across her lips. "I'm okay. It's been hard with Ron and them gone, but I'm fine. You?"

"I'm good as ever." There was a quick pause, and Ginny tried in vain to remember what they'd talked about when they were together. Quidditch? School? She couldn't say. "It's great of you to be starting this back up."

"Yeah," she tried to find a response. "Someone needed to." She swept her hair off her shoulder. "The Carrows haven't been giving you too much trouble, have they?" Dean was muggleborn, which was the number one factor for their hit list.

He shrugged. "Not anymore than the others. I keep my head down. They probably don't like you much - being connected to Harry and all."

"Harry and I aren't together," she said swiftly, her mouth hardening. Leave it to Dean to slide Harry into every conversation.

"Oh - I heard -"

"You heard wrong. Never were, and we never will be."

He grimaced. "Merlin, I screwed up."

She couldn't help but snort, anger rising to her throat. "Dean, I told you a million times that we weren't anything. You bloody well screwed up."

"I -" He looked lost. "I'm sorry."

"It's a bit late for that, Dean. It's been five months - and not a word. You could've owled!"

"So could you!" She found herself an inch from his chest, her finger pushed up against his robes.

"You dumped me. Because of a bloody rumor that you wouldn't let me explain. D'you really expect me to send you an owl after that?"

"I said I was sorry!"

"Yeah, five months later!" Ginny realized that they'd never really even talked much - they'd row, and snog, and then repeat.

"I don't want to do this with you." He backed away, lips in a very Slytherin scowl. "I'll see you around, Ginny."

He spun on his heel, and left her with her jaw on the floor, not understanding what just happened. Typical Dean - start drama, and then turn it around towards her. Secretly, she thought she'd dodged a bullet when they broke up. She sat heavily into her chair, her heart still racing angrily. It'd been so random, and she couldn't help but feel cornered by him. He had this overbearing quality that had been endearing when they were together. But during a fight, she couldn't help but feel on edge, like disagreeing with him could start a fire.

She gathered up her things and made her way back to her common room.

AN:

-In the book, Dean wasn't at Hogwarts during his 7th year. I changed that.

-Also, Dean and Ginny's relationship is pushed back a bit. They dated throughout his sixth year, and broke up about a month before school ended.

Haven't been writing recently so I decided to start it up again. I'm really excited for this idea. Enjoy! :)