Disclaimer: If there were a way to pluck a star from the sky, I would take for myself that loved light we call Harry Potter, but sadly, stars can not be plucked, and stories definitely can not be taken from Rowling.

Ginny lay down on her bed. She had just woken up, but refused to get up. She didn't want to admit that yesterday had been real. She wouldn't give in to it. She wasn't going to cry. She had cried already too much. She had to stay strong. There was no way she could stay strong lying in her bed, worrying,

Seeing as it was pointless to simply lie in bed, Ginny decided to get up, and walked over to her desk. She looked at the calendar. 'Draco,' she whispered, choking down a sob. 'Happy Birthday.' She clutched her locket, which she had never taken off since she first got it, and kissed it. She looked at the diamond, and thought it was glowing. She passed it off as fear.

Ginny walked downstairs to the family room. This early in the morning, her father was sitting there alone, reading the newspaper. Ginny dared at glance at the cover, and saw the picture of her best friend. She had definitely died. Ginny had to know what had gone wrong. 'Tell me what happened,' Ginny asked her father. 'I don't want to read the article. Just tell me.'

Arthur Weasley, old age beginning to be visible and very apparent in his face, put down his newspaper. 'They're claiming that we have am amulet of some kind, a medallion of an eagle. They say we stole it. The Minister of Magic said that they got a letter, a threat, telling us to give them the amulet that we stole. I have no idea what it was. They say that they'll keep killing a family each day until they have what they want, and that they will start killing their prisoners. Kristin was just unlucky. I found it strange that they said they would take this fight to a whole new level of we tried to rescue anyone else.'

'What did the Minister do?' Ginny asked warily. 'Did he reply to their threat?'

'I'm not exactly sure, and that worries me. The Minister says that we have to return this amulet back to the Death Eaters so as to protect unprotected families.' So the Minister wanted to aid the Dark Lord and give in to his demand.

'That's crap!' Ginny shouted, horrified. 'Doesn't he know that would make things worse? Why would the Dark Lord want that amulet if not to further power himself?' Voldemort would just take killing to a whole new level. The only thing to do was to fight back.

'That's what worries me,' her father admitted. Even Arthur could tell that something was amiss. This was no way to deal with such a situation.

'How was the message sent?' asked Ginny. 'It must have been an owl, but no owls go directly to the office, right? If something were sent from the Death Eaters, wouldn't it have been made more public knowledge? People would have known. Plus, an eagle? That's awfully vague, and I know that the Aurors don't even have an idea as to where the enemies' base is? How could we have stolen anything? The only significance of an eagle that I can think of is Rowena Ravenclaw.'

No one had an answer to these question.

'Do we know who was held prisoner or who escaped?' asked Ginny. Her father nodded his head, sullenly, not knowing anyone who was there. Another loophole in the story.

'I don't think that they would have told us that. Something is fishy. Something's wrong,' Ginny said. No one could possibly escape. On that note, why would the Death Eaters take any prisoners? Didn't they just, well, send the killing curse at their enemies?

'Don't worry, Gin,' her father told her, hugging her, trying to reassure her. 'Everything will be alright. Don't worry.'

Ginny found her thoughts wandering to Draco, even though for her his name was a taboo. She prayed that he was safe, that he was the person to escape. She highly doubted her, but allowed herself to dream "Please, Draco," she thought. "Please be alright. You're of age, now. You don't have to follow anyone. Please be alright."

That very same morning…

Draco woke up, the events of yesterday finally making their full appearance in his mind.

He was in Hogwarts finally. It had only taken a day to get there, but it had been one of the most hellish days of his life. Sitting in his cell, no matter how confining, was not as painful as the short trip to get to Hogsmeade.

He had avoided the town as much as possible, not wanting anyone to know where he was. Even though Draco believed the town to be safe, he didn't want to take any risks. If anyone saw him who was a Death Eater, then he would lose everything.

Draco had sneaked up to the front gates of the castle, and had banged and knocked until he caught the attention of someone. Headmistress McGonagall had come herself to the gates and, although very skeptical, let Draco in. He collapsed shortly after, and looking around, Draco was in the medical ward.

Draco sat up in his bed. He noticed that he was wearing a fresh set of robes, and that his cuts and bruises were all gone. His envelope was on a night-table next to his bed, for which he was thankful. No one had looked at it. His wand was also there, but he was most at ease when he realized that he was still wearing his locket.

Not able to sit still, Draco stood up and walked around the room. He looked out the window, guessing that he was probably on the third floor now. He looked out the window, and was comforted to know that he was in Hogwarts. He felt safe here, and felt a blanket of security which he would never have felt elsewhere.

Draco thought about what to do, but did not have to think very hard. He would go and talk to McGonagall, and tell her everything. Even if he was abandoned, at least she would know what to do. He would be able to accomplish something, and maybe she could explain what was happening.

Draco looked to the grounds of the school. The view was beautiful. He could see the lake from here, and the giant squid playing around. He saw the Forbidden Forest, and contrary to what he thought for the longest time, Draco now found the forest beautiful and serene, almost inviting. He watched little animals scurry outside the castle. From everything he saw, Draco found the courage to go and see the Headmistress. Of course, when he was about to leave, it dawned on Draco that he no idea where to go.

'Madame Poppy?' he called out. The old mediwitch came out of her office, and was surprised to see Draco awake.

Madame Poppy called out to a house elf, and it popped up. 'I want you to get some food for Draco,' she told the elf. 'Something healthy, mind you, and easy to eat. Bring some broth and something with sustenance. Hurry!'

The old witch turned to Draco. 'I'm alright,' he told her, 'but I have to see the Headmistress. It's important.'

'So is your health,' Poppy told him. 'Go back and rest. Even though you're fine now, you'll collapse if you don't get rest.'

'I need to see the Headmistress now! It's urgent. I have to talk to her!'

Poppy sighed, not wanting to do anything to make her patient suffer. 'Fine, I will go get her myself, but you have to stay here and eat whatever Minny brings you. You will not leave this room, understood?'

Draco watched the mediwitch leave, and sat down at a table. He lay his hands on the table, and placed his head on top of them. He was extremely tired, but refused to sleep. This was important. Even if he was in pain and agony, he would do anything for Ginny. He would not let her cry again.