A/N: Hello my fellow readers and writers. I have to ask: have you ever written something and it seemed fine and then you looked back on it a while later and realized that what you wrote kind of sounded like crap? Oh god, am I having one of those moments haha. Hopefully this chapter is a bit better (it should be as I'm not writing it at 3 in the morning) :P Enjoy!
WARNING! STRONG LANGUAGE!
The collective mood inside of Hogwarts was darker than it had ever been. Though it was only early autumn, the air was cold and so tense, Ginny could have sworn that if she had a tuning fork, it would have started to hum on its own.
As she walked to and from classes on her first day, she kept noticing new rules being hung on the walls, reminiscent of Umbridge's decrees. Students were no longer allowed to linger in the halls, nor were they allowed to go anywhere outside of classes or dormitories without having a written excuse from a teacher.
Ginny passed the newly framed rules and sighed. She should have known Hogwarts would be radically different since she had been there last, but blimey, she hadn't been prepared for this term to be so depressing.
As she walked to her next class, she passed by Filch who was hammering a nail into yet another framed rule. Ordinarily, she would have kept going, but out of the corner of her eye, she caught the word "Quidditch" and stopped dead, trying to see around Filch. In Snape's spiky lettering, she read:
due to the multitude of dementors wandering around Hogsmeade, The sport of Quiddictch is to be cancelled until further notice.
"What the bloody fuck?" the words came out of Ginny's mouth before she had a chance to recall them and, seeing Filch turn his angry gaze on her, scurried out of sight. She turned the corner and, of course, almost ran face- first into the bugger himself, Snape who looked just as surprised as she upon her flighty entrance.
"Miss Weasely, as I'm sure you are already aware, there is to be no running in the hallways. The next time you are caught, you will receive… detention." She looked up at him and met his eye, nodding.
"Yes sir," and went on her way, the opposite direction from Filch and Snape, without looking back.
When she made her way farther away from the loathsome headmaster, she sighed morosely. If she missed anything about Hogwarts, it was the Quidditch; she loved the fast pace of the game, the chase for the Quaffle. She yearned for the leathery smell of her gloves and the lemony scent of broomstick polish, but most of all, she missed soaring hard into the air with nothing but the wind at her back and the sunlit clouds ahead. Up there, she was able to let go of all her other anxieties and worries.
She gave another sigh before shaking off her run- in with Snape and her sadness about Quidditch and became more focused as she entered into Transfiguration.
Even though things in the castle had turned to a dire state, Ginny saw how her professors tried to make the best of the unfortunate situation they were in. Professor Flitwick had Ginny's class begin with practicing Cheering Charms before moving on to more difficult material and while Ginny knew Professor McGonagall wouldn't lighten the work load any, and was no less strict in her expectations of the students' behavior. However, her summons to the youngest Weasley at the end of the class came as a surprise.
"Miss Weasely," the professor sat behind her desk, organizing various papers on her desk before setting her eyes on her pupil. "I just received word on Professor Snape's newest decree; that the forming of clubs and groups for after- class enjoyment is prohibited for the entire year," Ginny kept her face at a polite curiosity, trying to hide the worry that, for an instant, clenched her insides. She knew McGonagall would never alert Snape to the reformation of the DA- she would even try to lure him away from it if she had to- but in case they were being watched, she decided it was best to swallow her worry. Taking a deep breath, she replied calmly:
"Thank you, professor. Although I have to admit, the idea of not having Quidditch hit me the hardest," she could have imagined it, but Ginny could have sworn she saw a small smile flash across her professor's face before it was replaced with a more serious look.
"Just so you are well aware, Miss Weasely. These are dangerous times and you must be careful. I would rather you and the rest of the students be prepared- for the changes in the rules. You are dismissed." Startled by the abrupt end to the small appointment, Ginny nodded quickly and picked up her bag and walked out, her growling stomach begging her for a spot of lunch before her next class.
Later...
"Oh hello, Ginny- all finished with lunch?" Luna greeted Ginny outside of the Great Hall after a quick lunch. She was smiling despite the moping among their fellow students, and sported earrings with pairs of fluttering butterfly wings on each ear. Ginny peered at them for a moment or two before replying:
"Yeah; you ready for our DADA class?" Luna nodded and clutched her schoolbooks closely to her chest, either with eagerness or nerves.
"I wonder how Neville's Defense Against the Dark Arts class went this morning."
Ginny shrugged, "dunno- but hopefully it didn't go too badly. I'll ask him about it later tonight if I see him." As the two made their way towards the usual DADA classroom, she began to feel the gnawing of worry start again, but ignored it as best she could. Dear lord- since when had she been a worrier? She shook it off as best she could as they entered the classroom.
The room was dank and dark, save for the grey light cast by a few open windows at the head of the classroom; the cold had seeped in, chilling everything. The torches on the walls did nothing to warm the room. The room was already partially filled and more students were filing in. As Ginny sat down, she rubbed her arms quickly to try and retain warmth. She saw next to her how Luna pulled her robes closer to her.
"It's awfully cold in here, isn't it?" Luna whispered to her companion, who nodded.
"Let's just hope it'll go by fast. This is my last class for the day so I can just go back to my room and put on my jumper and fuzzy slippers."
Luna giggled, "that's the same for me- I can't wait to go warm up with a cup of Rumblerouse tea."
Ginny nodded, smiling, though unsure what exactly Rumblerouse tea was. The two had no time to talk more, however, as Amycus stomped into the room and, once he had approached his desk, turned around to face his class.
"Right," he glared at all of them, a hard scowl on his mouth. "I want all the Mudbloods up. All of you!" About three students stood- some more shakily than others. Once all were standing, he spoke again.
"Who the bloody hell do you think you are? 'Ere you are, stupid muggle- borns in my class- I want all of you the bloody hell out of here! If you don't get out of here, I'll report you to the Ministry! Have that bloody Umbridge sort you out then, yeah."
In an instant, the three students fled, leaving pieces of parchment flying in their wake. While they ran, Amycus laughed wildly and started waving his wand at their backs, making desks fly up and exploding bits of the classroom wall, making them run even faster. Now smirking, Amycus turned his eyes to the rest of the class.
"Take out your wands and get up- all of you! I want you to duel. But you're only allowed to use the Imperius curse," he looked around at the students who were still glued to their seats.
"What are you waiting for? Up! NOW!"
Some quickly stood while clutching their wands while others did so more slowly. There was, indeed, trepidation for this activity, as everyone knew it would involve using an illegal curse, but no one spoke out.
At least it's not the Cruciatus curse, Ginny thought thankfully as the students partnered up. She turned and faced Luna. Suddenly, she felt a sense of dread. She didn't want to face Luna- to curse her and force her to do terrible things…
"It'll be okay, Ginny," Luna whispered to her, as though she could read Ginny's mind, "we just won't make each other do bad things."
The red head nodded, smiling a little to try and relieve some of the tension.
"Begin to duel! Blimey, 'ow many times do I have to say it?" Amycus shouted impatiently at them. The students began, some having their partners do harmless things, while other students under the curse were subjected to climbing the walls, punching themselves in the faces, or, worst, standing on the ledges of the open windows.
Ginny and Luna were fairing well thus far, however; Luna had Ginny jump up and down for a minute or so and Ginny had Luna put away a few pieces of parchment. Then suddenly, without warning, they were interrupted by Amycus who snatched Ginny's wand from her.
"Stupid girls! That's not how you use the Imperius curse! Let me show you how it's done!" He pointed Ginny's wand at Luna and shouted: "Imperio!"
Ginny watched in horror as Luna raised her hands up to her ears and violently pulled out her earrings, crushing the fluttering butterfly wings, making them still. The sharp end pierced her palms and made them bleed. Her ear lobes were torn, and small specks of blood were forming on the ragged edges.
"That's how you do an Imperius curse, you stupid little Weasley," he snarled at her while Luna broke out of the trance of the curse
"Ow…why…my earrings…" she grew wide eyed and stared at the remains her broken earrings sadly.
Amycus shoved the wand back into Ginny's hands and went back to striding around the classroom. As soon as he was out of sight, Ginny pulled Luna into a hug.
"Luna- oh my God, are you okay? That git'll pay for this- he can't get away with-"
"No, Ginny," the girl replied softly, still looking as though she was in a trance, "it won't do any good for you to get in trouble," she held her wand tightly. "Let's practice again."
It had taken all of her control not to march up to Amycus and shove his wand where the sun didn't shine, but Ginny made it to the end of class. The only thing that stopped her from casting her Bat Boegy hex on their wretched teacher was her worry about Luna and her desperate want to take her to Madam Pomfrey. Luna had been especially quiet as they packed up their things and made their way to the infirmary.
"Luna- are you alright? What he did- that was awful; if you want me to go back and get him with a good one, I-"
"No, Ginny, really," Luna gave her a small smile as they opened the doors to the infirmary, "I'm fine." She grew silent as Madam Pomfrey scurried over to them and put hands to Luna's torn ears.
"Ah- let me guess, you just had Professor Amycus," she shook her head in disgust for the teacher and ushered Luna towards a bed and had her sit while she pulled out some cotton and a vial of clear liquid. Ginny noticed that Luna held her broken earrings in her hands tenderly.
"Here," she held her hands out to Luna, "let me hold those- I think your hands are hurt too." Hesitantly, Luna handed the broken earrings to her friend. As Madam Pomfrey tutted about the unnecessary injuries, Ginny tried to fix the earrings.
"Reparo!" what was broken became mended, though the wings remained still. Ginny didn't know why they didn't continue to move like before, and didn't notice Luna was finished until she gently took the earrings back.
"Thank you," she said, trying to smile.
"No problem," Ginny said, smiling back, though still worried. Though the corners of her mouth were turned up, Luna seemed weighed down by sadness. "Luna- I'm sorry I couldn't fix them all the way; I don't know why they won't flutter like they did before."
"They were my mother's," Luna bit her lip. "She put a special charm on them. I suppose after they've been broken, they won't work anymore."
Ginny hugged her tightly, glad when Luna began to hug her back. The two stood there for a moment or so before they broke apart. Luna gave the red head a genuine smile.
"Don't worry about it, Ginny. I still have them. And I'm sure if I ask Father, he'll know the spell Mother used."
They turned and started walking towards the exit of the infirmary. Ginny put an arm around Luna's shoulders. Now that Luna was better, it was time to get back at Amycus; and she knew just how…
Back in Amycus's classroom…
"OY! What the bloody fu- NOOOOOO! ARE THOSE BATS OR BOOGEYS? AAARRRGHH!"
A/N: Hey everybody! Sorry this chapter was a bit longer than usual, but I hope you liked it! Thank you for reading and I hope to see your reviews! I would also like to thank those of you who have reviewed and left me very helpful critiques! Thank you guys again, so much!
BY THE WAY! I have recently changed pennames, I used to be shadowofnothing14, and I am now wingedauthoress14. Just so you know!
