Got logged out of my old account (101olive4u) so I'm giving it a go with a new account. Hey guys, thanks for stopping by to read this story! Hope I'm not the only one who still reads/writes Harry Potter fanfics...
"I'll be fine, mum." Ginny said soothingly as she tried to pry her hands out of her mother's vice grip.
Mrs. Weasley frowned. "But everything is going to be different this year." She choked. "With Dumbledore gone, I don't know what is going to happen."
"I'll be fine." Ginny repeated.
"Be wary around Snape," her mother continued. "Keep quiet and don't provoke anything when you see him. I know that Dumbledore trusted him, but after his death and what happened to George-" Mrs. Weasley fell silent and looked down, hiding her face from her daughter.
Ginny squeezed her hands. "I'll be fine," she repeated a final time. "Plus I don't have Ron to look after this year. I don't need to keep him out of trouble."
"But who's going to keep you out of trouble?"
"Neville," Ginny told her firmly. "And all of my other friends. I'll tell them that they have special orders from you to watch my behavior."
Mrs. Weasley smiled weakly and squeezed Ginny's hands. A knock on the door suddenly broke the silence.
"Goodness, is it that time already?" She dried her eyes and wiped her hands on her apron before heading over to the door.
"Are they here?" Mr. Weasley appeared, carrying Ginny's trunk. He set it down beside her before joining his wife at the door. "Now remember Molly, we still have to question them."
"But we're expecting them," Mrs. Weasley argued.
"We have to keep Ginny safe, imagine if we sent her along with some strangers?"
"That's enough, Arthur." Before her husband could object, Molly opened the door and ushered their guests in. Ginny could see Neville and his grandmother from behind her parents. She grinned and waved. He returned the gesture before Mr. Weasley eagerly grabbed his hand, shaking it quickly.
"Bye Bill," Ginny called into the other room. "I'm leaving soon."
Bill and Fleur entered the kitchen moments later. Bill gave her a large hug. "Stay safe," he whispered. Ginny nodded mutely. Fleur hugged her and kissed her cheeks, murmuring an au revoir.
"You weren't going to leave without saying goodbye to us, were you?" Ginny couldn't help but grin as she turned to see the twins standing on the landing of the staircase. They were dressed in plain black robes, lacking the usual bright uniforms. George was sporting a bandage around his head.
"Never," she replied as they walked down the stairs.
"Stay safe, squirt." George ruffled her hair and kissed her cheek. "But still do what you have to do."
"Keep Dumbledore's Army strong." Fred added as he hugged her. "Now, more than ever, Hogwarts needs it."
"Thanks." Ginny smiled. "Can I rely on you two to supply us with Weasley's Wizard Wheezes?"
"Of course." They scoffed.
"Ginny?" Her parents called from the doorway. Fred and George squished her in a final bear hug before gently pushing her forward.
"See you at Christmas!" Fred called.
Ginny hugged her parents a last time, promising that she would be precautions and stay out of trouble and send them letters. ("They'll be searching the Hogwarts mail, so don't put anything too personal in your letters." Mrs. Weasley warned.) She kissed them both then hauled her trunk out the door.
"Have a good summer?" Neville asked once they had left the Burrow.
"Pretty good," Ginny shrugged. "My brother got married but the wedding was crashed."
Neville nodded solemnly. "Luna told me in a letter. How's Ron doing? Your parents mentioned that he was sick."
"Yeah. Spattergroit. He looks disgusting."
"I imagine so." Neville smirked. "Is it bad?"
"He'll recover."
Augusta Longbottom stopped the pair. "It's time. Neville? Would you like to try it?" She asked.
Neville looked nervous. "Really? I haven't had much practice. Maybe you should-"
His grandmother rolled her eyes. "For goodness sakes! I'm too old for that. You're doing it. Now, Ginny dear, make sure you have your trunk held tightly-good, good. You too, Neville."
Ginny held her trunk with one hand and Neville's hand with the other. Mrs. Longbottom clutched both of their shoulders tightly. In an instant, the sprawling meadows were gone and they were in front of the station.
"Not bad, Neville." Ginny leaned dizzily on her trunk. "We're all here in one piece, aren't we?"
"Yeah. I guess we are." Neville looked pleased.
"Quickly now. Let's get through the gateway." Augusta Longbottom adjusted her hat before leading the way into the train station.
When they had made it through the barrier, Ginny looked around with an heavy heart. The crowd of students and parents was significantly smaller. There were no excited younger students running around the platform, no chatty older students cracking jokes with one another, no hustle and bustle. Instead, parents had solemn looks on their faces as they hugged their children tightly. Friends huddled closely together, either speaking quietly or saying nothing at all.
Ministry officers were scattered all over the platform. Ginny watched as families bowed their heads and quickly walked past them. One approached her and Neville asking for their papers. They immediately handed them over. The officer scanned them and nodded, stamping the papers and returning them.
"This is terrible!" Ginny hissed to Neville when they had passed by the woman. She stuffed her papers in her bag. "Everyone is scared to death."
"I know," Neville sighed. He looked around sadly.
"Neville!" Augusta Longbottom beckoned him over.
Neville sighed. "I'd better say goodbye to her. See you in a bit?"
Ginny nodded. "I'll get us a compartment. Find me when you're done?"
"I'll take the trunks." Neville patted her shoulder then dragged both trunk over to his grandmother.
She suddenly felt lonely standing there. It was the first time in years that she was without her parents and brothers at the platform. It was weird, being alone. No Percy, bossing everyone around. No Ron, snacking on something smuggled from home. No Fred and George, causing mayhem. It was just her. Ginny shook off the strange feeling and boarded the train.
To her relief, she saw some familiar faces. Her ex-boyfriend, Michael Corner, was standing in the hallway. His brown hair had gotten lighter and he was tan from the summer. She recognized his two best friends, the dirty blonde, blue-eyed one being Terry Boot and the dark hair, dark-eyed Anthony Goldstein. Both of them were equally tan. Ginny remembered them as being fairly kind.
Michael noticed her and smiled slightly. He whispered something to his friends. They nodded and walked past Ginny down the corridor, both giving her polite smiles.
"Hello, Ginny. How are you?"
"Surviving," Ginny shrugged. "How about you? Have a good summer?"
Michael shrugged. "It was okay. Um-" he looked down. "Terry's mum was taken in July. We don't know where she is."
"That's terrible. I'm sorry." Ginny said, genuinely shocked.
"Yeah. It was a rough summer. We took him and Tony to Italy with us over the holiday. Some Death Eaters broke into mine and Terry's houses while we were gone so that trip kind of saved our lives."
Ginny nodded, remembering that Terry had a muggleborn mother. Michael's parents were both half bloods. "I was wondering where the tan came from."
Michael looked at his arms sheepishly. "I didn't even notice. Yeah, it was a nice break from all this." He looked out the window at the sad people. "It's going to be a long year."
Ginny nodded again. "It will." The two stood in serious yet comfortable silence until Michael cleared his throat.
"I should probably go find Tony and Terry." He said.
Ginny smiled. "Go ahead, I should go find my friends, too. See you around."
The two parted ways in opposite directions. As Ginny searched for more familiar faces, she couldn't help but remember how good Michael was to her when they were together. Dean, too. They were both wonderful, and Ginny felt a sudden feeling of regret for treating them so coldly after the breakups.
A compartment door opened up and someone grabbed her hand, dragging her in. Ginny thrashed in the grip until she was released. She looked up, only to have the anger melt off her face.
Parvati and Lavender were standing in front of her, their arms open. Relieved that they weren't people trying to kidnap her, Ginny accepted their hugs. The two of them guided her to the seats and they sat down.
"How've you been?" Parvati asked earnestly, clasping Ginny's hands with her own.
Ginny sighed. "Doing only okay, to be honest."
"How's your family doing?" Lavender asked, scooting closer.
"We're managing. Ron has spattergroit."
Lavender's eyes widened. "Really? How awful. Is he coming back this year?"
"No, he's staying home." Ginny searched Lavender's face for any signs of the other girl still having feelings for her brother.
Lavender noticed and laughed. "Oh, honey, don't worry. I'm over your brother." She gave a sultry look to a sixth year brunette boy who had just passed by the compartment with his friends. "I've got my eyes on someone better. I heard his accent on the platform and it was love at first sight."
Ginny laughed, for the first time all day. It felt good. "Good. I'm glad to see that this war hasn't changed you, Lavender."
Parvati frowned. "This is going to be a tough year, with Snape as headmaster. Did you see the platform? Practically half the school is gone."
Lavender nodded. "It's going to be lonely in our dorm room, Vati." She turned to Ginny pleadingly. "Stay in our room whenever you want. Please. It'll be so empty without Hermione." She looked down. "I hate to have left things so rocky with her last year. I wish I could've apologized. She and your brother are destined to be, you know?"
Ginny nodded. "They really are. Now they have to realize it now that everyone else has."
Lavender frowned at her hands. "And now Hermione is on the run, probably fighting for her life. I treated her terribly last year. But honestly, I'm going to miss her lots. Especially because Ellen and Aamira's parents both pulled them out of school the year before last, it was only the three of us." She turned to Parvati. "And now it's just the two of us."
"It'll also be weird without Dean-" Parvati began, then stopped suddenly, looking at Ginny sheepishly.
Ginny rolled her eyes. "You can talk about Dean, Parvati, no need for my permission. He's a great guy, we're on okay terms. Now, what about him?"
Parvati looked suddenly sad. "He's not coming back this year."
Ginny sat up quickly. "What?"
"He can't prove that he's a half blood. His dad left when he was a baby and his muggle mum got remarried to another muggle. The ministry thinks he's muggle born."
Ginny looked ahead, dumbfounded. She felt terrible for never knowing that. And she had been his girlfriend.
"I'm sorry, Ginny." Parvati put a hand on her arm. "Have I upset you?"
"Of course not," Ginny mumbled quietly. The train jerked and began to slowly pull away from the station. Both Parvati and Lavender waved at their parents as they passed them. Ginny arched her neck, looking out the window for a red headed clan, before remembering that they were locked away in the Burrow. She leaned back, embarrassed.
"I'm going to miss Dean." Parvati said in a hushed voice. Lavender nodded.
Ginny nudged Parvati. "Seems like you two got close, yeah? There's always kind of been something between you two."
"We're good friends." Parvati searched Ginny's face for any sign of understanding. When she saw none, she laughed disbelievingly. "Honey, he's gay."
"What?" Once again, Ginny was shocked.
"Sorry, I know he was your ex-boyfriend." Parvati put a hand over her mouth to cover her giggles..
"No, it's fine." Ginny was crestfallen. "Wait, really?"
"He told me in the last letter he sent to me over the summer."
Ginny rubbed her temples, elbows propped on her knees, still trying to process the new information. Lavender and Parvati shared an amused look. Finally, Ginny leaned back against the seat and shrugged. "I guess we always were more like friends than lovers."
Parvati and Lavender burst out laughing. "Sorry you had to find out from me, Ginny. Must seem kind of weird." Parvati shrugged. "I think I knew which way he swung even before he did."
"Huh." Ginny shook her head.
The girls chatted for the next hour until Ginny realized something. "Damn." She jumped to her feet. "I was supposed to find Neville and Luna over thirty minutes ago!"
Lavender smiled kindly. "Go! Don't let us hold you back."
Parvati nodded. "Go find them. Padma should be coming in soon anyway."
Ginny shot them both a grateful look. "I'll see you two at the feast."
She quietly shut the door behind her and trudged down the hall. She searched compartment after compartment until she found herself face to face with a sour expression. She stumbled in surprise, knocking her shoulder into his.
"Watch it, Weaslette." Malfoy spat, giving her a cold glare. He dusted off the shoulder she had hit with a flick of his hand.
Ginny scowled at him before pushing past, continuing her search down the corridor.
"No Potter with you?" Malfoy called tauntingly.
"Go to hell," she shouted over her shoulder.
Ten minutes later, Ginny finally entered the correct compartment. "There you are!" Neville jumped to his feet. "You had me thinking that you were captured."
Luna smiled serenely from beside Neville. "I told him that either a Snabberwitch had you held captive somewhere or that you were with other friends."
Ginny smiled guiltily. "I was with Parvati and Lavender-oh, sit down, Neville-sorry I wasn't here sooner."
"How are they doing?" Luna asked, flipping through an upside down copy of the Quibbler. "I talked with Padma briefly. She claimed to be fine but was giving off a very unsure kind of vibe."
"Same as the rest of us."
Luna nodded with a frown. "We're in a rather unfortunate situation, aren't we?"
"School isn't going to be much better, what with Snape as headmaster." Ginny said.
"Snape is cruel and cold, he won't hesitate to strike at us. I want you both to stay out of trouble, got it?" Neville said, leaning forward and looking each of them in the eyes.
"Way to kill the mood, Nev." Ginny rolled her eyes. "Luna and I will be fine, won't we Luna?"
"Naturally." Luna hummed.
"I'm serious. Do you promise?"
"Sure, Nev. Now let's stop talking about this, it's depressing."
Luna curled herself up in the corner of the compartment, clutching her magazine. Ginny sat across from her, dropping her small bag onto the empty seat beside her. She rested her chin in the cup of her hand and let the gentle rumble of the train lull her to sleep.
It was the screeching brakes that suddenly woke her with a start. The Hogwarts Express came to an clamoring stop on the tracks, sending Ginny flying across the compartment. She crashed into Luna and the two of them toppled to the ground. Throughout the halls, cries of terror could be heard. The lights flickered. Neville leapt to his feet and whipped his wand out of his sleeve. As he started towards the door, Ginny grabbed onto his ankle.
"Neville," she gasped, "wait." She used the hem of his robes and then his arm to pull herself up. "Okay, let's 'll be back soon, Luna." She whispered, pulling her wand from her pocket. Luna groaned and rubbed the back of her head where it had slammed into the wall when Ginny fell on her.
As they entered the hallway, they could see other heads poking out of doors into the dim lighting. Ginny jerked her head to the left and Neville nodded and followed her.
"Ginny!" Demelza Robins, one of Ginny's close friends, hissed from her compartment door and grabbed Ginny's hand as she passed by. "Ginny, what's going on?"
"I don't know." Ginny squeezed Demelza's hand and sent a reassuring look at Ritchie Coote and Andrew Kirke who were standing behind her. "Just stay here." She shut the door on them.
Neville had just shoved several Ravenclaw second years into a compartment and was shutting the door when he felt a hand on his shoulder. With a yell, he swung his arm into two torsos, sending them toppling to the ground.
"Ow, shit Neville! Watch where you're swingin'!" An angry Irish voice, Seamus. "We ain't your enemy."
"Bloody hell, that hurt." Another voice groaned, this one higher and full of annoyance. "Seamus, next time you decide to run through the dark to be a hero, leave me out of it. I was perfectly fine in my dark compartment before you came along." Susan Bones.
"Is everyone alright here?" An out-of-breath voice joined the clump of people in the hallway. Michael Corner.
"Lumos." Padma Patil lit her wand from beside Michael, a soft blue light dancing off the compartment door windows. Neville could see all the scared faces pressed against the glass, peering out at them.
"Anyone have any bloody idea what's going on?" Seamus asked after being helped off the ground by Padma and Susan. "Because I'd like it very much if we could get going. The Great Hall has a piping hot meal with my name on it."
The train gave another jolt from where it sat, sending everyone to the floor once again.
"Bloody hell!"
"What's goin' on 'ere?!"
"Lumos." A dark and grating voice in the distance murmured.
Ginny, from atop the pile, sat up suddenly, ears alert. "Who said that?"
"Who's that down there?" Michael hissed and pointed towards the end of the hall where there was a distant light. Everyone craned their necks to see.
The voice gave a low chuckle and the light bobbed closer. From behind it, several other wands lit up with the spell. Ginny could make out six figures drawing nearer and nearer. She could feel herself growing uneasier by the second.
"Who are they?" Susan whispered, fumbling for her wand on the ground.
"We come looking for a couple of friends of yours." The man was finally in front of them, his wand basking his scarred face in light. Ginny felt a chill run down her spine as she looked into the face of Rabastan Lestrange. "None will be hurt if everyone just cooperates." He turned to his fellow Death Eaters and nodded. "Search the train." They nodded and half of them disapparated while the other three started throwing compartment doors open. Shrieks rang through the walls.
Ginny leapt to her feet and started pulling her friends up by their elbows. "We have to stop them! Come on!"
Neville and Padma sprinted after a Death Eater that was dragging a screaming fourth year Hufflepuff out of her compartment. Seamus grabbed Susan's elbow and the two of them ran in the opposite direction towards two Death Eaters that were searching a compartment belonging to some small Gryffindor students. To no surprise, the Slytherins' doors remained unopened and untouched.
The train was complete chaos. Ginny yelled at the younger students to get back in their seats as she ran, slamming doors shut with her wand.
"No!" She screamed as a Death Eater pulled a tiny second year Gryffindor into the hall. She charged at the pair but the Death Eater merely laughed and grabbed the child's shoulder and they disapparated in a shot of black smoke. She halted with a gasp, arm still outstretched to grasp the now-gone child's hand. She moaned and sank to her knees, horrified at what had happened.
"Ginny!" Luna grabbed her hand, desperately trying to pull her up. She had tears in her sky eyes. "Ginny! They're taking the muggleborns that managed to get through Ministry security. They're taking children, Ginny!"
"I know, Luna. I know." Ginny murmured, biting back a sob.
Not far down the hall, Rabastan Lestrange appeared with a crack. He grabbed a Death Eater by the cloak and shook him. "Have you found him yet?" He hissed into the man's face. "Have you found the boy?"
"No." The man responded, clearly displeased.
"Hey losers!" Neville rounded a corner and stopped before the pair. "He's not here."
Rabastan punched Neville in the jaw, sending him sprawling to the ground. Ginny shrieked and shot a stunner at him but it was deflected with ease.
"Let's go!" Lestrange shouted. "He's not here and we have what we came for." He disapparated on the spot. The rest of the Death Eaters followed suit until the train was silent except for the feeble sobs of the students.
Luna and Ginny staggered over to Neville, propping him upright. He groaned, choking out an I'm fine. Compartment doors began to open and teary faces once again poked out.
"What was that?" A fourth year Hufflepuff sobbed.
"Why did they come?" A fifth year Ravenclaw stuttered.
"I couldn't save them," Neville muttered under his breath. "I couldn't save those kids they took."
"None of us could, Neville," Ginny said softly, holding back her tears. "None of us."
Luna was in the process of fixing Neville's swollen jaw when Padma and Seamus came back, this time bringing Parvati and Lavender with them. Everyone looked visibly shaken but no one was injured.
"Let's get you sitting down, Neville." Luna said soothingly as Seamus hoisted Neville up and into the compartment. The others followed.
As Ginny was about to join them, she heard the sound of quick footsteps running down the hall. She turned just in time to see Michael breeze past her.
"Michael? What's going on?" She shouted, chasing after him.
"I've gotta find Terry!" He shouted over his shoulder. "He's been blacklisted for his mum's actions against You-Know-Who."
Ginny's eyes widened. "Shit." She ran faster.
They rounded the corner and entered a compartment. Anthony Goldstein stood alone in the center of the small room, nursing his now-forming black eye.
Ginny immediately rushed to him. "Are you alright?"
Michael let out a choked sound. "Terry? They took him?"
Anthony let out a laugh that startled the other two. "You didn't think I'd let them take him, did you?" After assuring Ginny that he was fine, Anthony pulled at the ground in front of the window. To Ginny's surprise, he lifted an invisibility cloak off the stunned body of Terry Boot.
"Our mate here wouldn't cooperate when I told him to hide so I had to stun him. The man that searched our compartment barely took a look when he saw it was only me in here."
Michael gasped in relief. He clapped Anthony's shoulder. "Tony, you brilliant bastard." He waved his wand at Terry. "Rennervate!"
Immediately, Terry's eyes flew open and he scrambled to his feet, wand ready. "Where'd they go?"
Michael laughed and gave him a one armed hug. "Steady, mate. They're gone."
Terry visibly relaxed. He punched Anthony in the arm. "Bloody hell, mate, next time let me fight too!"
"What, I don't get a thank you?"
Terry smiled good-naturedly. "Thank you, you saved my arse." He threw an arm over Anthony's shoulder and looked at him. "What happened to your eye?"
Anthony suddenly went red. "I went outside Malfoy's compartment and started yelling at the Slytherins. His goons punched me to shut me up."
Ginny laughed. "Was it worth it?"
"Absolutely."
Ginny leaned down and picked up the discarded cloak from the floor. "Where'd you get this?"
"It's Tony's," Michael replied as he rubbed Terry's blonde hair with his knuckles.
"It was my grandfather's. He gave it to me." Anthony added. "It's done the three of us a good many favors."
Ginny nodded, remembering that The Goldsteins were a powerful family in the Jewish wizarding community. "Do the three of you want to come back to our compartment? If you want company?"
The three of them looked at each other and smiled and nodded. "Definitely."
When they had made it back to the compartment, they found a large group squashed onto the seats and on the floor. Susan Bones, Demelza Robins, Romilda Vane, Neville, Luna, Padma, Parvati, Lavender, Seamus, Ritchie Coote and Andrew Kirke. They slipped through the door and squeezed onto the last vacant spot on the floor. The fifteen of them sat in silence, all of them shaken up but grateful for the company. Ginny looked out the window, gazing at the bleak gray sky. Michael was right, it was going to be a long year.
Reviews and feedback are always appreciated. Until next chapter!