"So, you're okay, then?" Fred said for the third time. Hermione frowned at him.

"Yes," she told him again. "We're fine. We're staying in Grimmauld Place for now."

"Yeah, Remus said that he saw you three." Hermione hesitated for a moment, wondering if she should ask about Remus and Tonks. She had never seen Remus so cowardly before. She did agree that he needed to be with his wife during her pregnancy, but she disagreed with how Harry went about telling him that. Their old professor looked seriously hurt by Harry's words.

"H-how is Remus?" Hermione asked hesitantly.

"It's okay, he told us what happened," Fred stated. "Though, I agree with Harry. He should be with Tonks."

"He isn't with her right now?" Fred shook his head. "He's staying with George and me in our flat. Dad's come over a few times to talk to him about it." Hermione nodded. "It'll be fine. I reckon he'll be back with her before the month ends. George reckons next week."

"You two bet on this?" Hermione said indignantly.

"Course. I like taking money from his Holeyness." Fred told her about the new ideas George and him had for the store and how they still wanted to expand to Hogsmeade. They, of course, would have to wait until the war was over for that. Hogsmeade was crawling with Death Eaters at the present.

"Well," Hermione finally said. "I better go. Harry's got this plan that we're going to work on tomorrow. I better get some sleep."

"Alright, good night, 'Mione."

"Good night, Fred."

As Fred was carefully putting the mirror in the top desk drawer beside his bed, a knock came on the door. "Yeah?" Fred called. George opened the door and closed it behind him when he entered.

"I've talked to Christine," George stated. They had promised Christine Carthy that they would help her and her daughter, Anne, safe passage out of the country. Time was beginning to run out too, now that the Ministry had fallen. Fred's dad had told them that the Ministry was starting to track down all the Muggle-borns.

"Charlie's going back to Romania in two days. She's going to go with him and his Portkey." Fred nodded absentmindedly. Portkeys were illegal unless they were commissioned by the Ministry. Charlie had to authorize his use of Portkey through the Ministry weeks ago. He was set to leave nine o'clock in the morning.

"Good, so we need to bring her to the Burrow before tomorrow without using the Floo Network and without Apparating."

"What do you mean?" George said, frowning. "Why can't we Apparate?"

"We can. She'll be carrying a child with her. She'll certainly not want to Apparate."

"I've always said that kids ruin everything." George thought for a moment.

"We'll go at night. We can use brooms then," George stated.

"Good. Let's bring Lee or Remus. After the Death Eaters appearing a few weeks ago, we don't want to take any chances."

"Yes," George answered, "but we won't be transporting the Savior of the Wizarding World this time." Fred really couldn't argue with that. For the first time since George had entered the room, Fred really looked at his brother.

George looked more tired than Fred had ever seen him. He had told Fred that he was considering ending things with Angelina, felt it was safer for her. The twins had already decided they were going to cause as big a raucous as they could before Harry would end the war. They had started mass producing defensive products that they were sending along with Ginny when she would return to Hogwarts. They were even giving them free to every customer in their store. On top of that, they were spending most of their nights patrolling, looking for more ways they could help. They planned on being the Dark Lord's headache for as long as they could.

They weren't sure how long they were going to be able to keep the store going. Most of their products could be used as practical jokes against the Death Eaters, something they now advertised. Because of this, they knew one day the Death Eaters would come after them. They had a plan for when this would happen.

But when they did happen, they would be travelling a lot, hiding as much as they could. George didn't want to put Angelina through that. Fred thought his brother was just being thick, but he had good intentions.

"You alright, Georgie?" Fred asked.

"I know we make-fun-of him a lot, but I'm actually worried about Ron." Fred nodded, knowing exactly what his brother meant. Ron could be a nuisance, but he was still their brother. He had to be okay, he just had to. Fred had an unrealistic hope that everyone in his family would live through the war. "And Harry, too. And Hermione. I'm worried about them."

"They'll be okay," Fred stated. "They've survived this far haven't they?" George didn't look convinced.

The following evening, they Apparated to Christine's house in Surrey with Lee Jordan. While George helped Christine finish packing her things, and getting her daughter ready, Lee said to Fred, "Are you related to Christine somehow?"

"No."

"How about her husband, you related to him?"

"Why are you asking?" Fred wanted to know.

"Because that kid's hair is really red."

"She said her husband was a Muggle, who killed by some Death Eaters. I come from a family of Purebloods, so we couldn't be related."

Christine's blonde hair bounced as she entered the room. "Thank you all for this," she said. The three simply nodded at the thanks.

"Have everything?" Lee asked.

"Yes, we're both ready."

"Good," George said. "You'll fly with Anne. Fred, me, and Lee will fly around you, carrying your things."

"That way you'll be able to focus on keeping your six-year-old daughter on the broom," Fred added. He could remember how hard it was to keep Ginny on his broom when she was that age.

"Thank you," Christine said again. They all mounted their brooms and took to the skies.

They flew in relative silence. Every now and then, Anne would feel the need to speak to her mother, mostly complaining that they weren't there yet. Each time, Christine tried to tell Anne not to speak, but still, the child persisted. Half-way through their journey, Anne fell asleep. Christine had to keep one hand on her daughter while the other steadied the broom.

Fred was impressed by her ability to do both. When he asked her about it, she said that she had played Quidditch while was at Hogwarts. She was a Chaser for the Ravenclaw team. She had wanted to play for the Quidditch League, but she never had the chance. Not long after she left Hogwarts, she met her husband and got married.

When they weren't far from the Burrow, two Death Eaters appeared in the sky beside them. They were able to protect Christine and her daughter and disarm the Death Eaters as quickly as possible. They did lose one of Christine's bags, but Fred reckoned that was better than someone's ear.

Mrs. Weasley and Ginny were waiting for them when they finally landed. The boys carried Christine's bags, while she carried her daughter into the warm house. As if Anne could tell she was in a new place, she roused and begged her mother to put her down so she could explore.

"Can I get you something to eat?" Mrs. Weasley asked Christine immediately.

"No, thank you," Christine answered. "And thank you for letting us stay here." Mrs. Weasley smiled warmly at the woman.

"Of course. You make yourself right at home." Christine looked around the house. Fred had never been embarrassed by his home. He knew there were better houses in the world and he knew they weren't rich. But his home had always held a warmth to it. He was thankful for the life he had. And the house certainly looked better than when it did when the Death Eaters ruined the wedding.

Charlie came down the stairs, then, yawning as he did. "Hello, Christine," Charlie greeted, a smile appearing on his face as he looked at her. "Long time."

"That it has been." Christine fidgeted with her hair. She looked as though she was going to say something, but before she could, Anne started yanking on her shirt to grab her attention. "Mummy, I'm tired."

"I know," Christine replied fondly, smoothing out her daughter's hair as she spoke. Charlie knelt down to Anne's level to talk to her. He introduced himself with a smile. Anne backed up, close to her mother, suddenly too shy to speak.

"C'mon," Charlie said, "I'll show you to your room. It's Fred and George's old room, so I apologize for any punching telescopes you might find." Charlie glanced at all the bags Lee, Fred, and George had carried. He raised his wand and levitated them in front of them. Christine, Charlie, and Anne climbed the stairs to Fred and George's old room.

The minute they were out of earshot Ginny turned to her mother. "Did Charlie ever date that woman?" she wanted to know.

"Not that I remember. She certainly likes him though," Mrs. Weasley gossiped.

"How can you tell?" Lee asked. Ginny shook her head, like Lee had asked the most foolish question in the world.

"She was fidgeting the moment he walked into the room. I wondered what happened between them."

"Does it matter?" George asked.

"Honestly," Mrs. Weasley murmured disappointedly. She and Ginny went off into the next room to talk quietly.

The next morning, at breakfast, Christine thanked the entire family profusely for allowing her and her daughter to stay with them for the evening. Finally, at nine o'clock, Christine, Anne, and Charlie all grabbed ahold of the bucket standing out in the field. And the three of them disappeared together, officially leaving the country and all the worries behind.

Ginny was not happy about returning to Hogwarts. It was going to be strange being the only Weasley at the establishment and she couldn't even begin to imagine what a normal year at school would be like. Of course, she was glad that Harry wasn't going to be there. It would be too dangerous for him. Now that Voldemort controlled the Ministry, it was inevitable that he was going to officially take Hogwarts as well.

She sat with Neville and Luna on the train ride to Hogwarts. The ride was quiet for most of time. Half-way through, Luna started to read from this month's issue of The Quibbler. Luna's dad had made it clear where he stood in relation to the war. Ginny just hoped he would be careful about his writings. Voldemort had no qualms about killing him if he had to.

Before Ginny could say any of this, the compartment door slid open, revealing Draco Malfoy. He wasn't surrounded by his usual cronies. He looked like he had aged ten years since the last time Ginny had seen him. Anger surged through Ginny as she looked at him. It was his fault that Greyback had attacked her brother. And it was his fault that Snape had killed Dumbledore and the Death Eaters entered the school. His fault that Harry, Ron, and Hermione would not be spending their seventh year at Hogwarts. She had hated Malfoy before, but now she completely despised the ferret.

"What do you want?" Neville asked, matching Ginny's anger.

"I was looking for Granger," Malfoy said clearly, his shoulder slumping down a little, like he was carrying an invisible weight.

"She's not here," spat Ginny. "You made sure that she couldn't come back."

"What do you mean? The Ministry passed a law saying that all young wizards and witches have to attend Hogwarts."

"They also passed a law saying that all Muggle-borns have to appear before the Ministry," Neville stated bitterly.

"Listen," Malfoy said forcefully, "I'm just looking for her. I-I need to talk to her."

"Well, she's not here. Harry's not here either." Malfoy seemed to deflate completely. "Now get out of our compartment." Malfoy didn't argue. Carefully, he closed the compartment door and slid away.

"What do you suppose he wanted with Hermione?" Luna asked softly. Ginny shook her head. She could only imagine. He probably wanted to taunt her with his victory that he had made for his master. The ferret utterly disgusted her.

When they reached Hogwarts, the cheeriness of the beginning of the school term was gone. Instead, there was a large grey cloud that hovered both outside of the castle. The inside wasn't much better, really. The school seemed to have taken the dreariness of Dumbledore's death and clung to it. An ominous feeling crept inside of Ginny. What was this year going to entail?

If she was being honest, she didn't expect to see Snape sitting in the headmaster's chair. She didn't know how she didn't see it coming. Snape worked for Voldemort. It was only natural that he would place one of his Death Eaters in succession of Dumbledore. But seeing Snape in Dumbledore's chair only made her want to scream at the man. He had betrayed them. Dumbledore had trusted him and he was the reason Dumbledore wasn't sitting in the headmaster's chair anymore.

The sorting began like usual. The number of first years certainly decreased from the year before. While this continued, Ginny watched the staff table. There were figures that Ginny did not know. One of them had to be taking the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts.

When they had finished their meal, Professor Snape stood before them all, just like Dumbledore had done. All talking stopped immediately. When he spoke, it was like he was instructing class. He was disinterested in his own words.

"Mr. Filch has asked me to remind all students to keep out of the Forbidden Forest and that all Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes products are banned." Ginny felt a pang of pride at her brothers' work. "We have two new members of our staff. Alecto and Amycus Carrow." The man and woman that Ginny had observed stood up. "Alecto will be teaching Muggle Studies, which is now compulsory for all students. Amycus will be teaching Dark Arts." Ginny's mouth fell open. Dark Arts? She supposed Voldemort wanted to train them all to be like him and not to learn how to defend themselves. "Also, I have placed Alecto in the position of Deputy Headmistress, relieving Professor McGonagall from her duties." Professor McGonagall must have hated that, Ginny knew.

Instead of Dumbledore's extra words of welcome and the lightness of his tone, the students were given an order to go to their beds, completely without warmth. Ginny certainly missed Dumbledore.

And things did not get easier for them after this. Amycus Carrow took his position as Dark Arts professor extremely serious. He started his first lesson with ordering the students to practice their Unforgivable Curses on various insects. Anyone who could not do so by the end of the class period had to write an essay on how important Unforgivable Curses were.

Alecto wasn't much better. Her lessons consisted of teaching the students how insignificant Muggles were and how the wizarding community needed to rule over them. They were nothing more than savage animals, too stupid to do anything on their own. Each lesson was its own form of torture. She was glad Hermione didn't have to sit through those lessons, she could only imagine what that would have done to her.

A week in, Neville received detention from Alecto because he dared tell her that she was wrong about the Muggles. Ginny knew detention with the witch was going to be awful, but it was so much worse than she had anticipated. When he returned, it was obvious that he had been crying. "What happened?" Ginny asked.

"Alecto decided to practice her Cruciatus Curse," Neville murmured.

"I'm sorry, Neville," Ginny stated. He shrugged.

"I still stand by what I said, Ginny," Neville said. "Muggles are people, too." Suddenly, Ginny stood up.

"Already a week in and this worse than when Umbridge was here!" she nearly shrieked. Everyone in the Gryffindor Tower glanced over at her, some of them nodding in agreement.

"Harry had it right, getting out of here," murmured Seamus. "Dean, too."

"This is ridiculous!" Ginny continued. "This is our school! We're certainly not going to be learning anything from Carrows. Dark Arts! We're not going to learn how to defend ourselves when we leave Hogwarts. And anyone who disagrees gets the Cruciatus Curse!"

The Gryffindors muttered their agreement. "But what can we do, Ginny?" Lavender interjected. "They control the school! You know Snape's never going to side with us."

"How do you know?" inquired a second year. "Maybe if we talk to him-"

"Snape has never been on our side," Colin Creevey stated.

"They might control the school, but they don't control the us," Neville stated. He stood beside Ginny, an idea planting itself in his mind.

"Ginny," he said loudly so they all could hear, "I think it's time to reinstate the D.A." Ginny nodded. She quite agreed. It was time they started fighting back on their own. Harry was gone, but that didn't mean they had to give up. It really only made her want to fight back even more.

Professor McGonagall sat in the teacher's lounge alone. It didn't seem so long ago that Severus had joined her, Pomona, and Filius in this very room, thinking of ways they could help their students escape from Umbridge. She had thought she knew her friend, she trusted him.

To McGonagall, Severus had not just betrayed Dumbledore that day. She felt like he had taken the Sword of Godric Gryffindor to her world and hacked away. He had destroyed her belief in him, her belief that they were friends.

She had worked with him for nearly seventeen years. They used to make bets on the outcome of the Quidditch Matches. Would there even Quidditch this year? She wondered to herself. Was Quidditch a luxury that the Dark Lord allowed to his people?

McGonagall had never felt so helpless before. She wasn't sure what to do. Albus would have known the right words to say, she knew. He would spin his words around until she believed that everything would turn out alright in the end. But Albus was gone. And he was gone because of Severus.

The door to the lounge creaked open. Filius entered, quickly closing the door behind him. "Hello, Minerva," he said.

"Hello, Filius," she answered. Filius glanced around the room, like he was expecting someone to be listening to their conversation. Perhaps someone was. Severus knew what they discussed in that lounge, he had once been apart of it. He used to laugh at Gilderoy Lockhart with them. But those times were rapidly becoming bittersweet memories.

"Did you hear what Alecto had Longbottom do for his detention?" Minerva nodded.

"I heard," she answered. She took a long, deep breath, considering what to say. "I don't know how to make this better for the students, Filius," she said honestly. "There's nothing we can do against the Carrows."

"I know," Filius said. "It's like Dolores Umbridge is back." Minerva shook her head.

"It's so much worse, Filius. So much worse. And I'm not sure our problem will go away as easily as her." McGonagall stood up and made her way to the door.

"Are you giving up?" Flitwick said in outrage. McGonagall shook her head.

"I'm not giving up. I'm just waiting for Potter to miraculously fix everything at the last minute."

"What if he isn't able to, this time?"

"He'll come, Filius. He's our only hope." McGonagall opened the door. She left the teacher's lounge and all the memories behind with it.