"You walked away from him this time?" Pansy was a little confused.

Ginevra sighed. "I had accused him of running away, of hiding, of cowardice. I had made it personal. I made it a matter of pride that he make a decision. The only thing I could do was walk away. I don't want to break him; I want to free him. It would be better that I never offered him the choice than force him to make it."

Pansy nodded. "You should know, they're supposed to be back tonight."

Ginevra sat up. "Ron?" Pansy nodded again. "Does he know?" Pansy shook her head sadly. Ginevra fell back against her chair. "Who else is in the house?"

"Neville was released from St. Mungo's this morning, so he's here. It's him, Mallory, Silas, and Siren. Snape and Theodore will be back for dinner, as will Molly, Bill, and Charlie. Everyone is supposed to be here tomorrow morning for the meeting." Another one of Pansy's jobs had become to keep up with who was where when.

"Hopefully either Theodore or one of my brother's will be back before Ron and them." Ginevra really didn't want to tell Ron that their father was dead and was sure he would know someone was as soon as he looked at her.

She was not spared the duty, however, as three very tired and very relieved people arrived only half an hour later. Ginevra was still in the study when they arrived and waited for them to come to her. When they entered the room she greeted them all with as much enthusiasm as she could, but it wasn't much. When she got to Ron she just held on to him and started crying. She hadn't cried since it had happened.

Ron held her tightly and looked at Harry and Hermione who were both as worried as he was.

Finally Ginevra could speak and she whispered. "It's dad. He's gone." Ron's grip on his sister tightened and he couldn't believe it for a moment. When her words finally made sense he buried his face in her hair. Harry and Hermione looked at each other and left quietly.

A few minutes later Ron slipped into the room he and Harry would be sharing that night and told his best friends what his sister had just told him about what had happened. When he had finished he broke down into tears and Hermione held him, rubbing his back gently and whispering in his ear. Harry sat with his head in his hands. He couldn't just sit there. Arthur was the closest thing he had known to a father. Sirius had been family and his death had devasted him, but this pain was more subtle, just as deep, and its familiarity made it worse.

He got up and left the room. He had to distract himself or he would never make it through this. He returned to the study and found Ginevra staring out the window, but she didn't appear to be seeing anything. He figured she could use a distraction as well. "Had anymore run ins with Malfoy?" He took a seat on the couch.

Ginevra appreciated what he was doing and returned to her chair. "Two." She told him what had happened at each.

"Sounds like you'll reach him yet." Harry never could figure out why, but instead of absolutely standing against what she was doing as Ron had, he found himself supporting her. It was even harder for him to understand why he cared if Malfoy chose to come to the Order or not, why trusting the Slytherin alumnus was an option, but he knew that if Ginevra brought Malfoy in, trusting him would not be an issue. Maybe it was that her beliefs were based upon an almost insane faith in the power of love and sincerity. Maybe it was that there was something about her, whatever it was that had kept her alive this long, that just reached the heart. Whatever it was, he always found himself encouraging her.

Pansy entered the room. "Sorry to interrupt, but I thought you might like to know that the others are here and dinner's almost ready."

"Thanks." Harry stood and held a hand out to Ginevra. "Shall we?"

She grinned. "Let's."

When they got to the kitchen Charlie was hovering over Pansy who kept swatting at him and laughing. Neville and Theodore were playing chess and Bill was reading the paper to Molly. "Where're Silas and Siren?" Ginevra asked as she took her seat. Silas and Siren were twins and had been Slytherin a year above Harry in school.

"We're right behind you." Silas took a seat next to Ginevra. "We were just helping Pansy out by finishing up with the laundry."

"Ah." A few more seconds passed and Ron and Hermione came down. Bill stood and walked over to his younger brother. They looked each other in the eye a moment before embracing.

When they broke apart Ron sat next to his mother and hugged her tight. He kissed her on the cheeck and then asked, "What's for dinner?" Hard times call for strength, and engaging in long discussions about how everyone was holding up under the pain was dangerous. They could all sit down with this was over and mourn properly, but right now the stiff upper lip and a quick lock of the eyes communicated all that was needed.

The meeting the next morning went better than anyone had expected but still not good enough. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were leaving again and they still couldn't tell anyone where they were going. There was a raid coming up soon that promised to be one of the worst yet. The good news was that 70 percent of their efforts over the past fortnight had been successful. That meant new Intel and more resources with a few less death eaters.

The raid had turned out worse than they had anticipated. Everyone had been called out in some desperate hope. Ginevra stood on the battle field without a thought in her mind of leading Draco away, even if she could find him. She was needed here; there was no time for anything.

Screams filled the air around, screams of pain as well as fury. They were in a dense forest and it was dark. It was barely possible to see anything and both sides were hunting by sound. She heard a swish, a strangled scream, and a thud off to her left and ran that way as quietly as she could. Before she could get to where the sound had come from she saw movement out of the corner of her eye and turned, raising her wand.

There she stood, wand tip to wand tip with Draco Malfoy. "Where is your freedom now?" He bit out, as softly as he could.

Her eyes were sharp and focused, but not on him. Every muscle in her body was highly tuned and her reflexes were on high alert. He could tell she was made for the battle field.

Her eyes darted from side to side and her balance shifted almost imperceptibly in all directions as she listened to the screams and curses surrounding them. She was needed. She was one of the best they had. She could save lives if she would only break away from Malfoy. He watched her, knowing the thoughts that were coursing through mind.

She slowly closed her eyes, centered her head, lowered her arm, and relaxed her body. He was in shock. She opened her eyes and met his. "If this is where you need to find it to exercise it, it is here."

"Every second you waste with me one of your friends could be dieing at the hands of death eaters. You could save them, at least one. I've seen you fight. Why do this?"

Time had stopped for them. The roar of the battle seemed miles away. "Because they know what they are fighting for and are ready to die. You do not and are not. Kill me now or help me. Make your choice."

Draco stood there, with his wand raised and his mind racing. Why couldn't he kill her? Four times he had stood like this and four times he had failed. Why? He heard a twig break to the left of them. His wand arm and her head moved in perfect timing to face the noise. Instantly Draco shouted a curse and Ginevra ducked. A jolt of green light flew over her head and a death eater fell to the ground, dead.

Draco roared. There was no other description for the noise he made that would come close to adequacey. He roared and ran into the forest.

Ginevra watched him disappear before returning the battle. She did not see him again.

The count was high. They had lost Silas, Mallory, and Goyle. Carlisle, Thompson, Fred, Lupin, and Siren were badly injured. No one escaped unscathed.

A/N this story will not update tomorrow. i might also take monday off, but i will resume normal posting no later than tues