A/N: Gah, sorry! I haven't updated in forever! I just had a hard time figuring out where I was going to go with this, but I thought of something, finally! Eek, its been two months! Sooo sorry! On with the story...

Chapter 3: A Coward

"Dementors" Ron's jaw hung open.

"There must be thousands of them!" Hermoine said, shocked.

"We need to get back to the Burrow. Now." Harry said as he pulled his wand out of his pocket.

They all had their wands out and ready, incase they needed to use the Patronus spell to ward off the Dementors, as they ran for cover at the Burrow.

The Dementors swooped down after them, spreading a thin frost behind them in their path.

They stopped just about 30 feet from the Burrow, and decided to have someone go get help. They didn't want to lead the Dementors straight towards the Burrow.

"I'll go" Ginny volunteered.

Harry nodded. "Okay, just...Be careful. We'll watch your back" and with that, she was running full speed ahead towards the Burrow.

While the other three were warding off dementors outside, Ginny ran inside, heaving and her mother rand over to her, "Ginny, what's wrong, dear?" she said as she pat her back soothingly.

Ginny finally caught her breath, "Dementors...outside...Harry, Ron...Hermoine" She said in between gasps.

"Arthur! Get down here, now!" Molly yelled up the stairs. He came running down from the study, where he was finishing up on the rest of his work for the ministry.

"What is it?"

"Dementors" His face paled at this. "Ginny said they're right outside there. You go, I'll get Dumbledore and the rest of the Order."

He nodded and rushed outside, wand at the ready.

Molly flooed to Headquarters and came back almost immediately with Dumbledore, McGonagal, Remus, Tonks, Mad-Eye, and a few others Ginny did not recognize. They all pushed right past her and out the door.

Ginny was just about to follow, when she felt a hand on her shoulder, stopping her. She turned around, and found herself facing George (or Fred). "Ah ah ah, where do you think you're going, young lady?" he said.

"We've been assigned to baby-sit you, little sister.-"

"Make sure you don't try to do anything stupid-"

"So, you're not going anywhere" Fred finished.

"Hmmph!"She sat down huffily on one of the dining chairs, and crossed her arms across her chest, pouting. "...Can't do anything...Just a little girl...not allowed..." she mumbled under her breath. The twins just chuckled at her and sat on either side of her at the kitchen table.

They waited for what seemed like hours. Ginny was staring at the ceiling, absently twirling her hair in her fingers. Fred had his head laying on the table, drool seeping out of his mouth into a little puddle beneath his head. George was playing with his wand, making little 'swish and flick' movements with it and occasionally bewitching the pepper to dance with the salt. The only noise coming from the room was the faint snoring coming from Fred, and the occasional sigh from Ginny.

Finally, Mrs. Weasley stepped through the door, followed by Mr. Weasley, Dumbledore, Harry, Ron and Hermoine together, McGonagal, Remus and Tonks, and few other aurors, all looking extremely drained. No one said anything, the room was still completely silent, except for the heaving breathing of Fred. Ginny nudged him and he snorted, and sat up quickly, earning giggles from Harry, Hermoine, and his siblings, and a stern glare from his mother. Fred, George, and Ginny all stood up and the only thing they could hear was the shuffling of feet and the clock ticking steadily in the background.

After a few more moments of tired silence, Dumbledore cleared his throat and spoke, "I suggest that we all sleep on it, and talk about this in the morning. Fighting all of those Dementors is both physically and emotionally draining." Everyone mumbled their agreements, and Ginny understood, even though she was just dying to know what happened with the Dementors. "Good night, then." He said tiredly, and everyone from the order flooed out of the Burrow with the exception of the Weasleys. Fred and George stayed tonight, incase there was another attack. Everyone was tired and headed upstairs to go to bed. Hermoine and Ginny went to Ginny's room, and Ron and Harry went to Ron's room in the attic. Fred and George, of course, stayed in their old bedroom. Harry and Ron went straight to sleep, for they were completely exhausted. Hermoine was extremely tired as well, however, Ginny kept asking her questions about what happened tonight, and Hermoine felt that she should know. If I had to stay home all night while my family and boyfriend were out fighting dementors, I would be curious, too. I wouldn't be able to sleep. She thought to herself. So she gave her a quick overview of the night's events.

"Okay, well once you left, Harry, Ron and I were struggling to keep the dementors off. I hate to admit it, but my patronus charm isn't the strongest, and, no offense, but neither is your brothers. So we were basically relying on Harry to keep them off, and, needless to say, he got quite tired after a few minutes of their pursuit. They were so relentless, and for one boy to fight off thousands of Dementors, virtually by himself, well... im sure he's sleeping like a baby right now. And it's not that Ron and I didn't try, because we never gave up, trust me, but it didn't do so much good. Luckily, it didn't take more than ten minutes for the Order to show up and we were able to hold them off for a little bit, but, oh, there were so many." Ginny just shook her head and leaned in closer. And Hermoine looked towards the door and lowered her voice, leaning in a bit more as well. "Well, we finally got them to leave, and oh, it was so cold. There was an eerie silence in the air, and I had goose pimples all over me, and not just from the cold. It was like I could feel that it wasn't over yet. It couldn't be that easy."She paused, took a deep breath, and shuddered thinking about the memory.

"Go on," Ginny said eagerly.

"Death Eaters" Hermoine whispered.

"No"

"Probably about a hundred or so"

She gasped. "What happened?"

"We fought them, of course. It was a nasty battle. One of the fiercest ones yet." Ginny's eyes were wide with terror and anticipation.

"Was...was, V-Voldemort there?" she whispered in a barely audible voice.

"No, the coward. I reckon the whole thing was just a warning. Of worse things to come. He's just toying with us. Trying to weaken our ranks. And when that last battle does come," she took a deep breath. "I-I'm so scared, Ginny." she sobbed. "You should have seen the horrible things. After the Order showed up, about 20 more aurors came and fought. They were all so young, too. Such a shame. Scarcely half of them made it through the battle." Ginny's eyes flashed with anger.

"Next time, I'll be there. I want to help. And my mother can't stop me, either." She had a very defiant look on her face, and looked like she had made up her mind. And Hermoine knew once she made up her mind, no one, not anybody, could change it.

"I don't think we have much time. There's just so much we need to do to prepare. I think we need to step it up a bit more starting from now on. I don't even want to sleep. The final battle could be anytime, anywhere. It could be tomorrow, next week, next year, even. I feel like I'm not ready, and I don't very much like that feeling.

"First thing tomorrow morning, Hermoine. You and I will go up to the study and prepare. If only I could practice magic outside of school." She let out a frustrated sigh.

"Don't worry about it, Gin. You can help me. And Harry and Ron, too. They are going to practice with us if I have to drag them in by their ears." The girls shared a laugh.

"I bet your tired, Hermoine. We should get some sleep." Ginny said, yawning.

"Yeah, you're probably right." She smiled and went over to her bed, climbing in under the covers.

"Goodnight Hermoine."

"G'night"

A/N: took me long enough, eh? It's a little short, but...deal with it. Next chapter will be extremely fluffy. Not much action happening there. R&R, please:)