Note: If you haven't read the revised edition of chapter one, turn around and read it! Cause you won't understand anything in this chapter if you don't read the revised! Sorry for the inconvenience.
Ginny was hexing a big, muscular Death Eater in front of her. She looked sideways and saw other fellow students hexing masked Death Eaters. A surge of grim pride soared through her. Through thick and thin, Hogwartians would always hold up. With the exception of Slytherins, she added as an afterthought.
After what seemed like ages, all the Death Eaters had been tied up, knocked out, or in very few cases, killed. Horace Slughorn uttered a spell that encased the Death Eaters in a silvery sphere, after all had snatched away their wands. It was more than he could do for the few Hogwartians lying cold on the floor, eyes unseeing.
Ginny sighed. How many times had she faced a battle, a duel before? She was becoming an expert in it. Although, she thought, nothing would match Hermione, Ron, and Harry's dueling skills, in our age. Looking around, she cast her eyes in search of Ron and Hermione. She gave a sigh of relief when she couldn't find them lying on the ground.
"Oh, no." she murmured. They were nowhere in the Great Hall. She had a terrible feeling in her gut. It wasn't unlike the feeling she felt during Ron's poisoning episode the previous year. Shaking her head, she tried to reassure herself with images of Ron and Hermione safe and sound, probably kissing their heads off. But then, the feeling wouldn't go away.
Her thoughts were broken with a sound of running, coupled with "GINNY! GINNY!" in a familiar, male voice. Neville was sprinting toward her, a grave, look in his face. For Ginny, it was as if her death sentence has arrived.
Harry was sitting in the Burrow. They had finished an hour of talking. All seemed well until, with a cacophony of grunting and panting, Horace Slughorn's great bearded head appeared in the fireplace. The witches and wizards around Harry gave a yelp of shock.
"Harry! M'boy! There's no time to explain! -"
"Wotcher, Professor." Tonks said, in a slightly shocked.
"Nymphadora! There's no time! Harry," he paused, and looked around the room, "Well, and the rest of you. Hogwarts was under attack a mere seconds after you departed! The Death Eaters sprang up and fought!"
Collective gasps of shock and anger rang through the room.
"Are they alright? Is everyone alright?" Molly Weasley cried
"What happened? How could this possibly happen?" Remus Lupin said
"We gotta get going, right away!" Bill and Percy shouted
Bemused, Slughorn looked at Tonks.
"Everyone quiet!" Tonks cried. When no one paid her heed, she pointed her wand in the air. A loud bang erupted and everyone reluctantly turned their attention to her. "We got to calm down and put our heads together. Professor Slughorn, what is the situation now in Hogwarts?"
Slughorn seemed to be immensely relieved. He nodded and spoke. "Everything is under control at the moment. The Death Eaters have been rounded up. Some have been killed. I'm afraid some from our side have died."
"How about Ron and Hermione? Ginny?" Harry couldn't keep his concern for them at bay. He couldn't imagine them, lying cold on the floor, never to speak, to love, to fight again.
"Ginny's alright. Although we couldn't find Ron or Hermione. . ."
Ginny was running. Her legs were working their way, a loud footfall after another, in rapid succession. She had to get to Ron. Horrible images were going through her mind. Cheerlessly, she comforted herself with the fact that he was in the Hospital Wing, not in some makeshift morgue. The dark hallway to the closed doors of the room was now in sight.
"Hermione!" she panted as she reached the doors. She stopped. Something was definitely wrong. Hermione was sitting there, clutching her knees to her chest. Tear stains were marking her grime-coated cheeks.
"Hermione?" Ginny said cautiously. "Hermione, what happened?"
"Ron. . . Ginny, they . . . he. . . bloody bastard. Sectumsempra . . . on the chest." Hermione couldn't go further. She sobbed on Ginny's shoulder, soaking it. Ginny sat still. Her heart had momentarily stopped. Sectumsempra was terrible. Recalling Harry's words "Terrible wounds, slashes. Lucky he didn't get them on the chest. I bet only Snape knows the curing spell for that."
