Slamming her face into the pillow, Ginny tried to calm her choked breaths. She turned over onto her back, furiously wiping away her tears, and stared at the ceiling, focusing on her breathing, until she was relatively calmed down.

She heard, once again, hushed whispers coming from below, but this time, she didn't move.

How could her own mother do this to her?

Protecting me, Ginny thought sardonically, and felt frustration rise up once more.

How could she make her stay here, when everyone else was out there? Fighting for their lives—for Hogwarts?

It didn't matter what her mother said. Ginny was absolutely certain, and nothing would sway her: she was going to Hogwarts. She was joining Dumbledore's Army, and she didn't care how much her mother tried to stop it: she was going to fight.

This was her war.

And she had to fight it.

A sound startled her from her thoughts. A gentle creak from that one stair, then quiet, soft footsteps.

"Ginny?"

Her father.

She glared at the door silently.

A sigh.

"Ginny, dear, I'm so, so, sorry for this. I know how hard it is for you. But I work at the Ministry, and believe me when I say you don't want to be out there. You're safe here.

Your mother, Ginny, she loves you so much—we both do. We can't risk your life. I'm sorry."

There was a pause, as if he was waiting for her to say something. Which wasn't happening.

With every word, Ginny only seemed to get more and more angrier. Does he really think telling me about how dangerous it is, is going to keep me from going? My friends are out there; the more dangerous it is, the more I want to go.

She knew that it was dangerous.

And that was the reason she had to do it.

She remained silent, looking at the crack on the bottom of the door and the two shadows of her father's feet, until, with another sigh, they faded away with quiet footsteps.

When those too faded into silence, Ginny's jaw set with determination. They can't stop me, she thought, her stubbornness rearing up. She was going, no matter what it took.

The rest of the night passed quickly through Ginny's slumber. In the morning she woke in a cold sweat, twisted in her duvet, hair clinging to her tear-streaked face. Flashes of jet-green light and screamed curses, her friends falling onto blood-splattered grounds.

And although she knew it was just a nightmare, just her overactive imagination, she also knew that if this war inevitably continued on, and without her fighting alongside them, it would no longer be just a dream.

Morning was passed in a gloomy silence. Her parents shared worried glances, each convincing the other they were doing the right thing. Ginny sat in the middle, stirring her porridge so furiously it nearly spilled, refusing to look at her parents, to even acknowledge either one of them.

When her breakfast was finished, Ginny stood swiftly to exit this uncomfortable scene, eager to return to the comfort and safety of her room, to tune in to Potterwatch once more. Her parents glanced up quickly, and just as quickly looked back down. They showed no sign of trying to stop her.

As she walked out of the kitchen, wanting to stomp but forcing her feet to pad gently along the wood, her eyes swept across the space in front of the door.

There. That cabinet.

She knew her parents. She knew their tricks, their hiding places, much better than they thought she did.

There was a small lock on the handle.

"It's a muggle lock," a voice came from behind her.

Ginny didn't turn around.

"You can't smash it open, and you don't have your wand. I have the key, and I won't let you have it." The voice was heavy, filled with sorrow, but also firm.

Ginny stood there for another second, and then turned and pounded up the stairs.

She felt frustration so thick it threatened to overflow, to break down the wall she hammered over her emotions. Her footsteps echoed through the small house (a goddamn prison, she thought bitterly) and pierced the palpable silence of the three Weasleys. She wanted to scream, to cry, to lash out, for this complete and utter unfairness.

But soon her face hardened. If they thought that was going to stop her, they were dead wrong.

Despite everything, a smirk spread across her face. She had learned more than just pranks from Fred and George.

Quietly so that her parents wouldn't hear, she began searching her room for hair pins.


Neville pressed his ear against the cold wall, straining to catch words, until he realised that he was indeed a wizard. He pulled out his wand and murmured a quick spell. The words came to life, and as they floated into his ears and took shape as thoughts, he stumbled back a little, perhaps from shock—he wasn't sure.

"Potter, in Hogsmeade." A voice—McGonagall.

"Potter? Hogsmeade? Are you sure, Minerva?"

"Very. Severus—Headmaster Snape that is—will want to search the school soon. It would most likely be the place Harry would return to, but how, I'm not sure," McGonagall said, her voice hushed, and Neville thought he heard it tremble slightly.

"Yes, you've got a very good point," Flitwick replied, and Neville didn't need to hear any more.

He fled down the hallway under a Disillusion Charm, still wary of his surroundings. Once he reached the two large doors of the Room of Requirement, the entrance welcomed him in, and—

BANG.

A spell to his right went off, and an efflorescence amount of red dust exploded in the room, temporarily masking his vision with abundant sources of bright.

"What in Merlin's Beard is going on—"

He was interrupted by a tackling hug from Luna that nearly sent him crashing him to the ground.

"Whoa, what's up?" he said, hugging her back instinctively, slightly confused and startled by the sudden affection.

The smoke slowly disappeared after a couple of seconds and he gave a good look around.

There's a lot of people, was his first thought, as his eyes scanned the filled room. Way more than usual. One, two, three, he counted, and lost track at fifteen students as they bustled around. There must've been at least twenty-five, probably more.

Lavender, Padma, Parvati, Terry, Seamus, Dean—the whole group. And more; he saw graduated students as well: Oliver, Fred, George, Lee, Bill, Charlie, Angelina, Katie Bell, and Alicia.

Neville scanned the crowds further, and his eyes caught on an unmistakable mop of bright red hair. She was in the back, the reason why he did not see her until now, but she was steadily making her way to the front of the crowd. Her eyes looked up and caught Neville's, and a brilliant grin appeared on her face. Ginny?

"Merlin! You're all here!" he exclaimed, unable to keep in the shock, relief, and joy coursing through him.

"Of course we are! Dumbledore's Army, aren't we?" Fred rang out, and choruses of voices could be heard, all echoing Fred's words. Wands raised in the air as spells were shouted, sending sparks of light up in the air.

Neville ran up and hugged Ginny, who returned it with equal force. As he pulled away, he raised up his wand and whispered "Lumos." A tiny, nearly miniscule sparkling dot of light sprang from the tip of his wand and glittered into the roof of the Room of Requirement.

"Glad you're back," said Neville.

"Glad to be here." She gave him a smile, and a thumbs up.

He gave one back.


There was a quiet scuffling, a quick snapped argument, and three sharp raps on the door.

"Come in," said Rabastan, mentally preparing himself for speaking to the two most infuriating and idiotic people he knew.

"Good evening, Mr. Lestrange," said Amycus, immediately opening the door, stumbling but catching himself, standing in front of him with a deep bow.

"Yes, yes, a lovely evening, Mr. Lestrange, indeed," Alecto responded, entering right after with a glare to the other, bowing just as deeply.

"What brings you here?" Rabastan said stonily, steadily. "My time is not to be wasted. You have five minutes to give me your supposed 'extremely important news', and then you will be leaving immediately."

The two siblings blinked, then nodded vigorously. "Yes, of course, Mr. Lestrange," they said together.

"It seems—" Amycus said.

"There has—" Alecto said at the same time.

They stopped and glared at one another. There was a pause as they held out this staring contest. Rabastan gritted his teeth and tried not to gnash them.

"Ginny Weasley—" they simultaneously said.

Amycus groaned. "Alecto, could you possibly be more of an idiot?"

Alecto barked out a laugh. "I don't know about me, but I'm sure there's no way you could."

"Both of you, shut up." Rabastan tried not to let the disgust and annoyance show on his face. Merlin, those two. The Carrows were by far the worst Death Eaters he had ever seen.

He wished to cast them away from his office at once, but there was an alarming stutter in his heart at the mention of Ginny Weasley. He took a deep breath, then pointed to Alecto. "You. Speak."

"Yes, Mr. Lestrange," she replied sweetly, giving her brother a smug smirk. Rabastan almost regretted choosing her, but then again, the other wouldn't've responded any differently, either.

"Ginny Weasley," she said smoothly, "has been spotted at Hogwarts."

Rabastan tried to keep his face impassive, but he felt his heart stutter once more. "That is impossible," he said, voice steely. "Mrs. Weasley has returned to her home with her parents. She is forbidden to return."

"You see, Mr. Lestrange," Amycus jumped in, "she—"

"Can you be quiet?!" Alecto snarled, turning on her brother.

"I don't know, can you?" Rabastan said coldly. Alecto gaped at him. He ignored her and turned to Amycus. "You. Speak." he massaged his forehead, feeling a headache rising up. "And make it quick."

"Yes, Mr. Lestrange, of course, Mr. Lestrange," Amycus said feverishly. Please stop saying Mr. Lestrange, Rabastan thought desperately. It was making him hate it.

"Mr. Lestrange," Amycus immediately followed (Rabastan wanted to cry). "It seems as if Ginny has somehow returned."

"Oh, really now," Rabastan muttered, feeling the headache amplify.

Amycus nodded. "She has been spotted multiple times at Hogwarts."

"Alright." Rabastan sighed with a sort of forlorn acceptance. "How?"

"Er—" Amycus stopped talking, and for once, Alecto didn't pick up.

Rabastan looked at the two in disbelief. He groaned. Must I do everything myself?

"You may leave now," he said, consciously taking in deep breaths in order to restrain himself from punching both of those complete imbeciles. Please, he added silently.

"Yes, Mr. Lestrange," Alecto said, sounding a bit relieved, bowing again and hurrying to the exit.

"Of course, Mr. Lestrange," Amycus said, following the other.

I really do hate that name now, Rabastan thought.

"Find out what they're planning," he added, and immediately wished he didn't, as 1. they wouldn't be able to anyway, and 2. It would mean he'd have to see them again.

"And close the door on your way out."

"Yes, Mr. Lestrange," they said together.

The door shut, and Rabastan felt as if the sky had just been lifted from his chest.

He settled down into a chair, and, as he thought of the very little information he had gotten from those two, felt a bit of that sky settle back down.

"Ginny Weasley," he murmured. "You just can't seem to say away from trouble, can you?" He sighed. "Very well. I gave you a chance."

The war was brewing, bubbling away steadily. It was a matter of weeks, days even. He'd have an ample chance then. Perhaps now she was a big nuisance, an important role—but really, in the war? In all the chaos, in all the fighting, she was just another person.

Just a quick little spell, and she'd be gone.

"Shame," he mused. "You could've made an excellent Death Eater."


"So," said Ginny with a beam that stretched her entire face, "what'd I miss?"

Neville laughed with delight and—he couldn't help it—hugged her again.

"A lot," he said seriously. "But we'll catch you up."

Ginny smiled, then turned to Luna, who was standing by the side, watching the two with a melancholy look.

"Hey, Luna," she called out, holding out her arms. "Come here. It's good to see you again."

Luna's face brightened, and in an instant she was engulfed in a hug.

"Oh, Ginny, I thought you left us!" she exulted. "I thought you were gone!"

"Me?" Ginny laughed. "I wouldn't dare. Now, let's go somewhere quiet and you two can catch me up."

Neville raised an eyebrow. "No can do," he said with a shrug. "We've hid in here for over a week now. If you wanna go out there—" he jabbed a thumb towards a pair of large double doors—"you gotta be invisible, fast, and very, very, quiet."

"Wow." Ginny raised her eyebrows and tucked a strand of hair behind her ears. "I really did miss a lot."

Suddenly Lavender appeared in front of the three. "Ginny!" she gave her a quick hug. "I'm so glad you're back. We're going to need your help if we want to win this war."

"War," Ginny muttered, feeling the word resonate through her, sending a shiver down her spine. "Guess we're really doing this, huh?"

"Yes," said Neville, his face hard. "They've forced our hand. We can't stand back anymore. We're all training, Ginny—we're all preparing for war. We have to."

Suddenly, he turned to a table beside them. He clapped his hands and them cupped them over his mouth.

"Dumbledore's Army!" he shouted.

Slowly, then all at once, the bustling room quieted, turning to look at Neville. Ginny did the same, watching the wizard with awe. Merlin, she thought, feeling both pride, and a hint of envy. He radiated confidence.

Neville looked at her, and extended a hand. Ginny, feeling a hint of apprehension, took it gingerly, and stood up on the table alongside him.

"Ginny has returned to help us fight!" Neville shouted.

A cheer went up the crowd and Ginny looked down at her feet, blushing.

Neville smiled at her, then turned to the crowd, his face turning solemn once again.

"Thank you all, everyone, for joining D.A. We wouldn't have accomplished this much, if it weren't for each and every one of you. However, our work isn't done yet—not even close.

"The war is coming. We have trained and prepared for months leading up to this, and as it draws closer, we must not be afraid. This war, and anything that happens from it, is not our fault. It is theirs—the Death Eaters, the traitors, the ones who have joined with Voldemort."

Ginny looked at Neville in shock, feeling her heart plummet with fear.

Neville looked back with a grim expression. "It is only a name," he said softly. "They can't do anything about it anymore."

"This war," he continued, voice loud once again, "must be fought. We must fight back, against the tyranny and unfairness of it all. We must fight for the lives of our family, the lives of our friends, the ones we love, and most importantly, we must fight for ourselves. Fight for your rights! Fight for what you believe in!

"Fight for Hogwarts, and fight—for—Dumbledore!"

"FOR DUMBLEDORE!" the room roared, pumping their fists up in the air, jumping up, cheering for Dumbledore's Army.

Ginny was quiet the entire speech. She had looked at Neville, listening to his words, with complete wonder. This man, she thought. This man was no longer the timid little boy she protected from the world. Neville Longbottom had grown up.

She didn't know whether to be happy or sad.

But the war was coming, and she didn't have time to think about these things, these little matters of pride and protectiveness. A war was coming, and they had to fight. Everyone was changing, but they had to fight.

So she raised her fists up in the air, she looked at Dumbledore's Army in all its glory, she breathed in the air, alight with adrenaline and energy, and she cheered for fighting, she cheered for her friends, family, and loved ones, she cheered for Dumbledore and she cheered for herself.


The picture frame on the wall appeared to be empty, but now, a small white dot appeared in the centre. Neville watched with bated breath as, slowly, a woman with blond braided hair came into view.

"Ariana?" Neville breathed out. She nodded.

"He's here."

Neville had to restrain himself from jumping up and punching his fists in the air. Instead, a wide beam broke through his haggard and worn face. "Let's go."

The portrait swung open and he entered through.

As they walked, Neville saw a small speck in the distance, which grew bigger and bigger, until it was unmistakably the outline of a boy. A boy with scruffy black hair and, as he got closer, glasses and a lightning bolt scar.

Neville began striding, faster and faster, until he broke into a run and nearly toppled out of the frame.

"Harry Potter!" he shouted gleefully. "I knew you'd come—it was just a matter of time." He seized him by the elbow and led him into the secret tunnel.

His heart was pounding in his ears as he told Harry about all the plans they had made. It was really happening, wasn't it? Harry Potter was here. It had begun.


"Here it is." Luna nodded and gestured to Rowena Ravenclaw, a bit too excitedly. Not like she didn't have a reason to. Harry Potter was right there, back, alive and well.

Harry moved closer to the statue, and studied the diadem carefully. Luna studied Harry carefully, joy bursting at the seams, because she had helped Harry Potter, and they were friends. She had friends—lots of friends.

"What are you two doing here?"

Luna jerked. She spun backwards, and saw none other than Alecto Carrow, standing in the doorway, her mouth twisted in a sick grin and her wand pointing straight at them.

Her heart plummeted. Her feet were frozen to the ground.

Alecto sneered. "My Lord will praise me greatly for this," she said with a gleam in her eye. She pulled up her sleeve.

One beat, one second, and Luna was propelled into motion; her hand flew to her wand and she jabbed it straight at Alecto, her lips moved on their own accord.

"Stupefy!"

Alecto fell to the floor, her robe arm still pulled up, showing that dreadful Dark Mark. Luna shuddered.

"What is all this?"

Two others pounded into the room.

Luna blinked, faintly registering the new arrivals' talking, and Harry responding. Her heart was too loud in her ears, drowning out her surroundings. She looked at Alecto in a daze.

I helped.

And suddenly, despite the war that was already in motion, despite everything, she was beaming.


"Hogwarts is threatened! Man the boundaries, protect us, do your duty to our school!"

Yes, thought Ginny, fear and joy and adrenaline coursing through her veins. She raised her wand, to help, to fight

Someone gripped her arm.

"Where," hissed a voice in her ear, "do you think you're going?"

Ginny turned, and what she saw made her thoughts stop dead in their tracks.

"Mum?!"

Her mother stood right in front of her, her hair a mess, her eyes red and furious. "You're not going out there," she said in a low voice, shaking her head violently.

Ginny tried to speak several times before succeeding.

"I'm sorry. I have to." She reached out a hand to pry the fingers off her forearm, but the grip only tightened, knuckles whitening, to the point where it hurt.

"No!" her mother's voice became shrill, desperate. "Ginny Weasley, you are my daughter, and you will listen to me. You are underage. You will not fight!"

"I can and I will!" Ginny screamed.

A crowd was gathering around them, and they broke out in worried, hushed murmurs.

"Ginny." A tear slipped down her mother's face. "Ginny, please. If you—if anything, anything, happened to you—" she choked up. Her hands moved to her eyes, releasing Ginny's arm.

Ginny froze, then she was gathering her mother up in her arms, hugging her fiercely.

"Oh, mum."

"I don't want to lose you," her mother whispered.

"I know. I'm sorry." Ginny closed her eyes.

"Please don't go."

"I…"

Her mother drew back now, and placed her hands on Ginny's shoulders. Her eyes were still wide and full of alarm, but they had lost that touch of wildness in them.

"I know I can't get you to come back with me," she said with a sorrowful smile. "But, please, please… stay in the Room of Requirement. Please, Ginny. For me."

Ginny pressed her lips tightly together and wrung her hands. She looked at the crowd of people, rushing out the door, wands drawn and prepared for battle, prepared to fight for Hogwarts, for themselves, for everyone.

Then she looked at her mother. Her mother, eyes filled with tears that were even now still dripping down her cheeks, her gaze filled with pleading and worry and love.

She dropped her head. "Okay."

She heard a sharp intake of breath, and then it was her mother who was taking Ginny in her arms.

"Oh, my darling," she murmured. "Thank you."

Ginny felt her eyes burn and well up with tears. She clung on to her mother.

A second later, this moment was interrupted by a hiss that echoed through the building.

I know that you are preparing to fight. Your efforts are futile. You cannot fight me. I do not want to kill you. I have great respect for the teachers of Hogwarts. I do not want to spill magical blood. Give me Harry Potter, and they shall not be harmed. Give me Harry Potter and I shall leave the school untouched. Give me Harry Potter and you will be rewarded. You have until midnight.

Ginny pulled back with eyes wide with alarm. Her mother gasped and looked around, seeing nothing that could've said that message.

"You need to go, mum," Ginny said. "I'll stay in the Room of Requirement."

Her mother nodded, gave Ginny one last hug, and disappeared.

Ginny took a deep breath, climbed onto a table, and began searching the crowd. There was one last thing she needed to do.

After a minute of searching, she found her—blond braids and a butterfly bow, baby blue dress, marching with the crowd.

She jumped off the table and made her way towards Elizabeth.

"Hey." Ginny touched the girl's arm. The girl saw Ginny and put on a smile.

"Hi, Ginny. Ready to fight?" She raised her wand.

"Elizabeth…" Ginny felt a heaviness in her heart, and felt a stab of sympathy for her mother. "You can't go out there."

There was a stunned silence.

"You can't be serious." Elizabeth laughed incredulously. "This is our war. I'm going to fight."

"You can't." Ginny bit her lip. "It's too dangerous—hell, even I'm not going."

"What?" Elizabeth gaped, and then her face turned hard. "You can stay and hide if you want. I'm fighting."

Ginny made a noise of frustration as she studied the girl, who was even younger than her, for Merlin's sake: her eyes were icy blue and unwavering, the look of a person who would not listen to anyone, no matter what they said.

It was a sharp, painful reminder of herself.

Ginny took a deep breath and looked away. "I can't believe I'm doing this," she muttered, mostly to herself, and looked back to Elizabeth.

"You have your coin?" she asked.

Elizabeth cocked her head with confusion, then nodded and pulled it out of her pocket. "What about it?"

"If you get hurt, if you get scared, out there… use your coin to tell me. I'll find you."

"Alright." Elizabeth shrugged, and pocketed the coin. "Well, I'm going to go now. I'll see you later, Ginny—either during or after the war." She smiled again, and this time, Ginny saw the flicker of fear and apprehension that she tried to hard to conceal.

Suddenly, she felt a wave of motherly affection for the young girl, and she pulled her into a hug.

"I'll see you," Ginny said, and hoped that it would be true.


Ginny!

The word slowly floated up on her coin. Ginny stared at it and felt her heart sink to her stomach.

Ginny, help!

With shaking fingers Ginny pulled out her wand and pointed it at the coin. Where are you? she thought desperately.

The entrance of the Forbidden Forest. I'm surrounded

and then the words disappeared.

Feeling her mind slowly winding into a panic, Ginny pressed her palms into her eyes and took a deep breath. I'm sorry, Mum.

She ran out the door.

Chaos surrounded her, muffled her thoughts and jammed her senses. Spells shot back and forth, people and creatures everywhere, rubble and fire splattering across a bloody battlefield.

Ginny ignored this all, and ran straight to the Forbidden Forest.

She choked out a gasp as she saw her.

"Elizabeth." It came out as a horrified whisper.

The girl lay across the entrance of the forest. Her hair was matted with blood, her clothes marked with scorch stains, one arm dangling over her body. Her wand was on the ground.

Ginny collapsed beside her, murmuring shaky spells and conjuring damp rags.

She was breathing, that much was sure. Her pulse was racing, but that was much better than none at all. And as Ginny gently wiped her face, her eyelids fluttered weakly and a moan escaped her lips.

"Shh." Ginny smoothed back her hair. "You're okay, you're going to be just fine."

Her fingers twitched. "Ginny?" Elizabeth whispered, barely audible.

"Yes," Ginny said back, "I'm here." She moved Elizabeth into a sitting position, and hugged her, painfully gentle, terrified of hurting her any more.

"Sorry," Elizabeth mumbled. "I wanted to help."

"You did," Ginny said fiercely. "You helped, Elizabeth, you helped us, and we're going to win this war."

"Mother," Elizabeth said weakly. "I want my mother."

Ginny let out a quiet sob and pressed her cheek into the young girl's hair.

A sharp bang and a cry of pain echoed somewhere to her right, but she didn't notice.

Ginny gently untangled herself from the younger girl. "You'll see your mother again. Come on, let's get you out of here."

She tugged Elizabeth up, allowing her to lean her full weight onto her. Murmuring a spell under her breath that she should've said a long time ago, a light green force field appeared around them.

They made her way back to the castle.

All around them, the war raged on.


Chaos. That was the only word to describe it.

Logan weaved through the crowds, stepping over rubble and occasionally bodies, unconscious or dead, he wasn't sure. He shot spells, he dodged jets of red and green. His head was throbbing and his heart was pounding as he fought his way through the battlegrounds of Hogwarts.

He crossed a bridge and watched as Neville fought a group of snatchers by collapsing the bridge they were on. He hurried over, and, along with others, helped him up. Logan didn't have time to do anything else—he gave him a brisk nod and continued on his way.

After a brief battle with a Death Eater that ended with the latter falling to the ground, Logan quickly healed his arm that the Death Eater had gotten a hit on, and allowed himself five seconds to scan the scenes in front of the Forbidden Forest.

He saw Ginny Weasley, her flaming red hair falling across her face as she embraced a limp, blond girl—Elizabeth, Logan realised with a pang.

Then something prickled in his mind, an intuition that shifted his eyes to the two girls' left.

Rabastan stood in the open, a smirk curling across his face, his wand pointing straight to Ginny.

Logan saw his lips move, form the words that made the Killing Curse.

The redhead was too far away for Logan to reach.

His wand was in his hand, but didn't have enough time.

The Killing Curse is known for many things. The name gives much away, of course, but there is a reason it is one of the Unforgivable Curses.

Once it is shot, once the caster's words are out of their lips, it cannot be stopped. There is no counter-charm, no deflection, that can stop it.

That said, there is one thing.

Logan didn't think, didn't stop to reason out what he was doing. His legs were moving automatically, gaining speed, until he was sprinting towards the jet of green.

The curse hits him perfectly in the chest.

He cries out and collapses to the ground. The last thing he sees is Rabastan's face, full of shock. It gives him some pleasure.

His vision fades to black, and Logan Erudia joins his family in heaven, praying that Ginevra Weasley will forgive him for all he has done.


Author's Note:

Oh, dear. It's been, what, half a year? So sorry! Procrastination and homework and then laziness took over. This is the penultimate chapter, and swear to god the last chapter will be out within two or three weeks. Really. Promise.