"Ginny? Ginny?"
I snapped out of my daydream to find Neville staring down at me, concerned.
"You okay?"
I ran my fingers through my hair. "Yeah, I'm fine," I lied. How was I supposed to be fine? The school was being run by Death Eaters. I was taking classes on why muggles should die. Defense Against the Dark Arts, a class I was usually quite good at, was now just Dark Arts. We were all being recruited to Voldemort's cause.
"Look, if you don't feel well…"
"Neville I'm fine now shut up and think!" I snapped. Luna sat in the corner, observing us quietly. "We can't just sit idly by and let this happen."
Neville got an intense look on his face. What used to be puppy dog cute had turned into a face that expressed maturity beyond his years. "So what do we do?"
I turned to Luna. She was the smart one. "I don't know."
Luna sighed and rolled her eyes, an action very strange for her. "We fight against it."
"That's great Luna, now that you've stated the obvious, would you mind actually helping?" I snapped once again. Now it was Neville who rolled his eyes.
"Ignore her, Luna, she's a little stressed," Neville sighed, glaring at me. Just seeing the way he looked at her made my stomach churn. Usually, I would think it was sweet that he liked her. Now any reminder of romance made me want to shut my entire body down. My stomach churned, my eyes stung. Before anyone could see me cry, I turned and stormed out of the room.
I went to the one place I knew no one would expect to find me: Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Usually, the place terrified me. But this wasn't a usual situation. And it was the only place where no Death Eaters interfered.
As soon as I closed the door I sank to the ground, letting grief encompass me. Before I knew it retched sobs were escaping me, and I was shaking like a leaf. I put silencing spells around so that no one could hear me. Maybe I did cry a lot lately. Maybe I cried myself to sleep every night I did sleep. Maybe I really, really missed my brother. Maybe I was still in love with Harry. But maybe being strong isn't about not being scared. Maybe it was about not letting people see you scared. And that, was the thing I was best at.