Chapter Thirty Seven

Ginny walked the Hufflepuff students to their common room at the end of their detention, leaving the Ravenclaws to Luna. The remainder of the Gryffindors were willing to take themselves back to the tower under the guidance of Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown, who were both still shaking but determined to assist the younger students. On ensuring that the Hufflepuffs had reached the correct corridor Ginny turned around, knowing they would not want her to see them opening the entrance to their House.

It took several long minutes for Ginny to make her way back to Gryffindor Tower, during which time she had decided on a response to the Carrows' latest strategy. Quickly she checked on those who had been in detention with her, then she settled down to write another poster. Writing this out took less time than coming up with the correct words, and soon she placed the instructions on the notice board. Although she had Neville take a quick look, she didn't bother waiting to contact Luna; the understanding they had shared in the dungeon was enough to make Ginny certain Luna would agree.

The Carrows are making us punish each other during detentions, Ginny wrote. It is not our fault and we must remember who is ultimately responsible. If you are told to curse someone, do as that person instructs. If the Carrows tell someone to curse you, let the other person know what to do. Remember, they are trying to turn us against each other. We must not let that happen. It is also important to stand up as soon as possible after being punished, and to remember that the other teachers can't help.

Next Ginny used the Gemino curse to duplicate the poster and tucked two copies inside her schoolbag to give to Luna and Ernie the following morning. She then took a seat in the same armchair she had used whilst writing, one next to Neville. "It didn't hurt so much tonight," she said, and despite her aching body this was nothing but the truth. "I remember Harry saying something," she said, and she was surprised to find her voice steady, "About the Cruciatus curse. You have to really mean it, when you're casting it, or it's not as powerful. It won't be as bad, if it's not the Carrows or the Slytherins doing it."

Ginny stopped there, unwilling to discuss that particular conversation with Harry any further. Neville might have been at the Ministry that night but, like Ginny herself, he hadn't actually seen Harry attempt to Cruciate Bellatrix Lestrange. It had been a highly illegal move made in a moment of desperation; neither Harry nor Ginny had referred to the incident since the emotionally charged afternoon the following summer when he had first described the duel to her.

It wasn't much later that Ginny went to bed, feeling that the end of the week couldn't come fast enough.

Wednesday passed, leaving only two days of lessons. Ginny hadn't heard of a single student who was staying at the school over Christmas, and the most prevalent topic of conversation, besides the posters now up in three of the four common rooms, was the students' plans for the holidays. Ginny herself intended to eat well, exchange gifts with her family and keep in contact with as many of the DA as possible. She would be unable to do much else, save continue planning her rebellion and search the things Harry had left behind for his Master coin.

Pushing these thoughts out of her mind, Ginny sat down to breakfast on Thursday morning. She ate her toast silently, wondering what Professor McGonagall would teach them during the last lesson of term. Probably something difficult, or a surprise test on everything they had studied over the past few months; McGonagall wasn't the kind of teacher to take things easy because it was almost Christmas. Professor Slughorn might be lenient, though, Ginny considered, and so might Flitwick the following morning. It was sensible to concentrate on her work, Ginny knew, and she headed to the Transfiguration classroom with that goal in mind.

Ginny had not, so far, disrupted a Transfiguration lesson, and nor did she have any intention of doing so. She wasn't scared of McGonagall, precisely, but she both respected the teacher and valued the learning that still took place in this subject. It was a shame that she didn't share this class with Luna, who took Ancient Runes instead; Ginny settled down between a Hufflepuff boy and a girl from her own dorm.

The lesson went much as Ginny had expected, with McGonagall passing around a written test. The students worked on this for the entirety of the morning, stopping one by one for the ten minutes in which the teacher asked them individually to perform a series of spells, then returning to their desks to continue. It wasn't the best way to give both a theory and a practical test, but as there was only the single teacher and limited time, it was the only possible option, Ginny knew.

Five minutes before the end of the session, as planned, McGonagall collected the test papers. She placed these in her desk then took a seat. For a moment she looked silently from one student to the next, then with her gaze on Ginny she began to speak. "I want you all to think, over the holidays, about your behaviour this term," McGonagall said. "This year has been different to what you had become used to under Professor Dumbledore and you need to seriously consider the consequences of your actions."

Ginny was sure that, despite none of the students having complained to her, McGonagall knew something of the Carrows' detentions. She, and the remainder of the class, sat without protest as their teacher continued to speak. Ginny wasn't certain, but she suspected that there was some kind of magical surveillance in the classroom, as in the dorm rooms. The teacher took a deep breath then let it out again; Ginny suspected she had made the decision to accept her punishment for talking to the students in this manner.

"Whatever punishments you earn, you will have to take," McGonagall continued, "So you need to think seriously about what you are doing. I would urge you to set an example to the younger students, and to look after them as well as you can."

Despite the carefully chosen words, it sounded very much to Ginny as if Professor McGonagall did not at all want the rebellion to end.