Sorry that it took so long to get this chapter out. I had an unexpected three day road trip that I didn't plan to go on til the night before. Thanks for your patience.
Chapter 12- The Badge
Ginny awoke the next morning and dressed quickly. She hadn't felt the coin in her pocket burn yet, but she knew that it would come. Most of the other members of the DA probably didn't even remember that the coins were made for communicating, and some had probably forgotten and spent it on sweets.
The sixth year Gyffindoor students where to meet with Professor McGonagall and discuss their classes. Ginny would be one of the last alphabetically, and so she had a few minutes while her classmates went into McGonagall's office. Ginny sat down for breakfast, and poured herself a glass of pumpkin juice. She was just about to grab a piece of toast when she felt someone sit beside her. She turned to see a smiling Neville next to her. "Mornin', Ginny." He said.
"Good morning Neville." She said, knowing already what he was there for.
"What is it that you um... had in mind..." His grin became broader than ever. "For Snape, I mean...?"
Ginny smiled and began to speak, but was interrupted. "Ms. Weasley?" Said McGonagall, walking up behind them.
Ginny turned and smiled up at McGonagall. "Yes, Professor?" She said, hoping that she and Neville hadn't been over heard.
"Come with me, please." McGonagall said in her severe voice and she turned to leave. Not daring to defy her long enough to say goodbye, Ginny shrugged at Neville and followed McGonagall into her office. "Please sit." She offered.
Ginny sat, facing McGonagall. "Is there something the matter, Professor?"
"No, dear." McGonagall said, pushing a paper across the table toward Ginny. "I'm sorry that it has taken so long, but I had to convince our new headmaster that the Gryffindoor prefects would not be returning and would need replacing." There was a great amount of contempt in her voice.
Sitting next to the letter was a shinning gold badge with the letter 'P' on it. Ginny read the paper quickly. It was true. She was now a prefect. She smiled a little to herself, knowing what this meant. She had some form of power in the school. "Professor, if you don't mind me asking... Who is the other prefect?"
McGonagall nodded. "Not at all." She said, she was now frowning slightly. "I had hoped to make Mr. Longbottom a prefect, however... The final say lies with the headmaster. Your partner will be Seamus Finnigan."
Ginny nodded. She knew very little about Seamus, besides that he was Dean's best friends, and harbored a bit of a skeptical personality. She hoped that there would be no problems working with her ex boyfriend's best mate.
She stood, but McGonagall spoke, "What about classes, Ms. Weasley?"
Ginny had almost forgotten. She sat once again and put the prefect's badge down in her lap, with her hands on top of it. "Well, I think we should begin with the required classes and work our way from there. First of all is Defense Against the Dark Arts. Then we must also have Muggle Studies. What is it that you want to do, Ginerva?"
Ginny smiled. "I haven't thought too much about that, Professor." She said honestly, "I guess there were other things that I was worried about."
McGonagall nodded, knowingly. "Well, if you are planning on doing something like your brothers in the entertainment area, then you need little else besides the basic courses. However if you would like to pursue a carrier with the ministry, like your father, then I suppose we will need a few more classes."
Ginny nodded, "I think I would like to do something a little more... complex than Fred and George."
McGonagall looked down at her desk, where Ginny's papers sat. "Well, then we should see what classes you can take, based on your O.W.L.s." McGonagall looked briefly at the paper. "I think that Potions would be a fine course for you to continue with. I also believe that Herbology and Transfiguration would serve you nicely. Is there anything else that you would care to take?" Ginny, thankfully had all the supplies for those classes, having planned to take all but Muggle Studies all summer.
Ginny shook her head. "No, thank you, Professor." She had meant it more as a thanks for still being at the school then anything else.
McGonagall seemed to understand. She smiled lightly, replaced the papers to their spot in her drawers, and said, "That will be all, Ms. Weasley."
Ginny proceeded to leave, still quite happy with the way that things were turning out. She headed for her first class, her mind racing with a new, more plausible plan than before. She hoped to meet Neville somewhere along the way to the greenhouse, even though she knew he would have other classes and they would more likely than not be somewhere in the castle.
She stood next to Luna and Liadawn, who had beat her to class. Luna was wearing the normal uniform, with the addition of her normal strange earrings. Liadawn wore a blue shirt instead of the usual white, with a silver tie, capri pants, and strapy blue heals. Her hair was long today, with a blue tint. Professor Sprout tapped her wand on the table in front of herself "Welcome back, students. Let us begin."
Ginny listened long enough to get the instructions for juicing the strange beans into a small glass vile, then she and the other two began to discuss Ginny's plans. "How exactly are you planning on getting in there?" Liadawn asked, smiling.
"I think I have an idea, but it would be risky." Ginny said, grabbing a bean.
"Well, its not like we have never done anything risky before." Luna said, as a shriveled bean tried to wiggle its way out of her hand.
"That's why we have to do this." Ginny said, looking around, to be sure that no one was listening. "For the hope and sanity of every student at Hogwarts."
Luna smiled, "Yes, and it would be fun to get a little bit of a pay back."
