Title: If This Should End In Fire

Summary: We had everything to lose and nothing left to lose and that is why we must win.

Rating: T/PG-13 for dark imagery and some swears

around 2000 words. Review if you like it, and I might write more.

Disclaimer: Work is J.K. Rowling's. The song is Ed Sheeran's from The Hobbit.

Keep careful watch of my brothers' souls

It was a dreary Monday when his little contrived world ignited with a fury. The past months had been of the worst sort – whispered sympathies and hands clasped tightly obliterated by snatchings in the night and massacres by murderous beasts nothing akin to the kind Professor Lupin. The bloody awful silence screaming at them day after day, the seeming "peace" taunting them.

Except it wasn't silent. Not for them. In the quiet, in the dark, they had dared.

So far, they had been careful in their schemes. Planning and waiting and strategizing and practicing spells in secret. Writing pamphlets and painting the corridors with notes of dissent (almost hope). Hold off the attack, let the Carrows have there fun and assume they had the offensive. Play the counter-defensive until the perfect moment.

Of course, the perfect moment would cost dearly. It had to be his closest friend in the world. She had sat him down the day before, with a fierce brazen determination, stating that it was time. She couldn't stand the silence any more.

He understood what she meant to say but couldn't. It reminded her too much of her first year, of prison and slippery hateful words whispering in her mind. The nightmares had begun again. He wanted to argue. To tell her - There must be some other way. They hate you. They will hurt you. They might kill you. But he couldn't stop her. He couldn't stop her because she was right. This would show everyone that the D.A. wasn't afraid. They were going to fight like Harry had taught them. They would not back down.

Or they might die. This came as no surprise to most of them - being whom they were and befriending the people they had befriended. So it was either keep your head down until you die, or fight for the one tiny chance that you might actually win this thing. It didn't seem like too difficult of a choice for any of them, even if painful. It wasn't quite true. He had just started living, and he didn't want to die.

They were in a right spat, they were, and all Neville could do was sit down and think. Bloody useless, he was.

At least he thought so, until Ginny stumbled into the Common Room and shattered all of their thoughts. As soon as he had heard the door open, he knew it had to be her. Who else would be coming in at five o'clock on a Monday. Knowing this, he didn't turn around to greet her. What he really wanted was to grasp her in a big bear hug and then tell her to get a week of sleep.

But really he didn't want to look at her. Parvati apparently had no such qualms (nor was she squeamish of blood – which was a good since she was Gryffindor's self-designated healer). Seeing her rush over to Ginny, he decided he might as well brave up and try to comfort her or whatever it was she might need.

Parvati was at her side in moments, helping her to the couch – but he couldn't really get past the whole staring at her to do anything useful.

She looked like hell, which was to be expected. Hair matted, scratches and marks all over her face and that was just what she was showing them. She had about as much covered up as she could. She wouldn't look at them. She mumbled a thanks to Parvati, and then set her gaze at the ground. Was she… oh God… would she be like mum and dad? But then, Seamus took one set next to her, and Lavender took the other. Parvati disappeared, most likely off for some supplies. They both grasped her hands, not letting her drift away in her own little world. She shut her eyes tightly, looking like she wanted to flinch away.

She started speaking, if only to ease the deafening silence around her. It didn't make too much sense, and it was in this awkward high pitch that reeked of something definitely Not-Ginny.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't mean too. NO, DON'T TOUCH THEM. It was my fault. It was me." And suddenly, it clicked. Ginny wasn't with them right now. She was stuck in the nightmares of her first year. Or the guilt from then.

Neville stood up abruptly, and kneeled in front of Ginny. By this time, Lavender and Seamus had let go of Ginny's hands, mostly because they were looking at him like he was crazy. Maybe he was. But something was wrong with her.

So he stood in front of her, and he screamed loudly. He screamed his arse off. Not a word, not a meaning behind it. She opened her eyes, blinked a few times, and snorted.

He thought, great, she really is off her rocker. But then she stopped, and looked at him, and at Seamus and Lavender and Parvati, who had recently returned. She smiled a grim smile. But she wasn't avoiding their gaze, which he took for a good sign.

Seamus spoke up eventually, in an oddly chipper voice, "So, darlin', want to tell us what happened?"

She looked at him in the oh-so-famous Weasley smirk. He back-tracked rather smoothly, Neville thought, "Of course you don't, but you know, your sitting her, and we are sitting here, and I am talking like a fool –" In the nick of time, Parvati cut in.

"You really do need to tell us. Or show us. From what I am guessing, there was a lot of damage and we need to fix you up."

"No."

"Ginny. You're hurt. I can help." Parvati had softened her tone a little bit, realizing the emotional strain Ginny was under.

"They already suspect you are D.A. They find out you made it go away, they'll…" Ginny turned away. Damn it. She's been spending too much time with Harry. Noble prat is rubbing off on her. Neville couldn't help but think maybe part of her wanted to be hurt, to be in pain. That she thought she deserved it. He hated thinking like that. Parvati didn't respond, just shrugged her shoulders. Neville supposed that was answer enough. Ginny couldn't accept it.

"Please, Vati, I have already caused enough damage. I don't want you getting hurt on my account. It really isn't that bad." Was she brain-damaged? Ginny was never this forthcoming about anything ever. Perhaps a concussion.

"That's a fucking lie, and you know it."

Ginny looked taken aback. Neville was too. Parvati never swore. "Fine, fine, but if they find out –"

"Ginny, I don't care. It would be wrong for me to have this ability to heal you and not to use it. Whatever happens I will deal with."

"When did you get to be so brave?"

"It happened when Lavender started dating your brother. I was just so disgusted, I couldn't help but grow up."

They both suffered a little laugh, although Neville could tell Ginny was suffering more. Lavender, of course, had no comment. Nothing like laughter at your expense. But that was all to end when Parvati began the healing process. It was gruesome. There was no other way to describe it, except perhaps barbaric. How Ginny was so quite about it all, Neville could not guess. Pure exhaustion and a desire to spare her friends from the horrors she had witness to, had felt reverberate through her body. Muggle methods of discipline for a Muggle-lover, she explained. Discipline was a word for it. He probably would have called it torture.

"Of course, I sort of egged them on. Told them all about Dean. Not by name, of course, but saying how good of a – well – I knew what would push their buttons."

"But why?" Lavender asked, wide-eyed. Ginny was silent for a few seconds, debating whether she wanted to answer or not.

"I'm not quite sure. I wasn't thinking, was part of it. I wanted to see how far they would go, figured it would be useful to know in the future. Anyway, he was tormenting the firstie Ravenclaw." So quick to wave off courage as recklessness, Ginny was. Not that she wasn't desperate. They all were.

After many painstaking minutes of trying to turn the lashing marks into less pronounced lashing marks, and the burns into something other then burns – Parvati threw her hand against the table in frustration. The wounds would not heal. Cursed Muggle weapons, most likely – or she would have been able to do something. Ginny didn't look too put off about it. In pain, sure, but she was a strong girl. Neville and Seamus glanced at each other, figuring now was as good of a time as any to ask what actually happened. After all, that was why she had gotten herself hurt in the first place, wasn't it?

Ginny began speaking slowly, trembling and stumbling over the words. It didn't really get easier as her story went on."It was like Christmas for them. Finally a reason for them to have a little chat with the tiny mudblood lover brat. Apparently Snape had held them off for a while, I don't really know why. It was a game for them. They were playing with me. Mess her up a bit," she looked at her body and shrugged, "a lot, ask her some questions. They knew I wouldn't give them anything. That I didn't know anything. That was just the warm up."

A hard look replaced the fire in her eye, at least momentarily, and suddenly, Neville didn't want to know what happened. In fact, he thought he might hurl.

"They decided to take a little trip in my mind, I guess Riddle must have taught them. I was trying hard to block out the parts with Harry in it, or any of my family, or Tonks and Remus. Which left…" Neville never thought he could kill anyone before, but now, he thought he could.

"They had a good laugh through my memories. And then, eventually they were bored with that. They played with some more weapons and then they brought in the last hurrah. A boggart. A bloody boggart. It didn't have anyone to torment for a long time, so it had a hay-day with me. I was unarmed of course, and couldn't really go anywhere being in the shape I was in." Which explains the state Ginny was in when she got to the Common stopped speaking. Apparently she didn't have anything else to say. They sat there for a few moments, and then Parvati bolted up after a few seconds. Not bothering to explain herself, she ran out of the was gone for maybe 15 minutes, and they were all a little worried she had done something stupid, when she rushed through the common room. Seamus, having been through a bit too much suspense for one day, yelled at her for running smiled at him this wicked smile, and shoveled a bunch of wonky looking clothes and strips. Apparently, they were muggle healing supplies. She had gone all the way to the Room of Requirement to get clothes and strips and other trinkets. Women!

She bandaged Ginny up pretty quickly, knowing she would not stay awake too much longer, for all the pain she was in.

Ginny had put up some huff about it being obvious who would have healed her but no one could argue with Parvati one the view occasions when she put her mind to something. Neville sank back into his chair, satisfied that Ginny was in good hands and would be okay. He couldn't help but drift off to his friends' friendly (even if overly-pushed) banter.

The last thought he had – when he was in that moment between wakefulness and sleep – the moment of perfect clarity. On this dreary Monday when all was hell around them, he realized they might actually win this war.