Chapter 10- Crashing Down

*****Ginny*****

Ginny's mare Patronus trotted around her, and Ginny laughed at the other silvery figures filling the room. Ginny liked having the largest Patronus she had seen, especially when she was so much the smallest in her family. And now that the thought of it, she was the shortest member of the DA too, even little Dennis Creevey was taller now. Ginny liked Luna's hare as well.

Ginny had thought this time of all the best parts of Christmas- her mother's cooking, seeing her father healthier and laughing. The only gift that had come to her mind was levitating sherbet balls from Draco. Because she was sappy, and that had been a little piece of perfect.

Ginny noticed Dobby when he was talking to Harry about something. She knew just before it was going to happen- that the poor little elf ran straight into a wall, falling back dazed. Ginny hadn't been able to do anything but shriek. Some great reflexes she had… but Harry hadn't done any better.

"Harry Potter! She… she…" Dobby tried to explain half against his will what was happening.

Umbridge, obviously.

Ginny looked around the room. If Umbridge knew, someone probably told her. If the woman had known since October, they never would have gotten this far. The question was, who was missing? Ginny didn't know the exact count, but they'd been the same group, more or less, for months. Only Seamus had been added, but if he was going to tell on them as soon as he was recruited, surely he wouldn't have come to the meeting himself.

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? RUN!" Harry shouted at the group- which probably didn't help, but he meant well.

Dobby would be the quickest way for a few of them to get out, but it would probably get the elf in more trouble with Umbitch. And Gryffindor Tower wasn't too far. Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws would have it much worse. But, it wasn't after curfew, so what bad could really happen to them as long as they didn't stay in groups?

"Luna, just go to a hallway by yourself and look lost," Ginny told Luna as they were pushing for the door. Luna would be better off than the rest of them.

*****Ginny*****

"I don't know how everyone knows," Hermione whispered when Harry left breakfast in a huff after yet another group badgered him for a retelling of what happened in Dumbledore's office after the DA was caught. Marietta Edgecombe was the traitor. Aurors had come and everything. And the whole school did know now.

Hermione didn't always know everything.

"Portraits," Ginny answered easily. "They always have the best gossip, and can't really do anything but talk. Usually you don't hear anything from the ones in the Headmaster's office- they usually stay put, and they can't tell Dumbledore's secret." she added at Harry's alarmed face. "But this, they spread around," Ginny shrugged.

Albus Dumbledore was gone. The last time Dumbledore had been removed from Hogwarts, Ginny had found herself in the Chamber of Secrets. And she'd heard that Dumbledore had been gone when Ron, Harry, and Hermione went after the Philosopher's Stone, and Harry and Ron ended up hurt so badly. It had all rather solidified the idea that the Headmaster belonged at Hogwarts, and nothing good would come of this. She wasn't panicking. This time had been Dumbledore's calculated choice, to take the blame so Harry wouldn't. And it wasn't her fault for calling the group Dumbledore's Army. Everyone had accepted the name… and if they hadn't, Dumbledore wouldn't have had that way of preventing Harry from being expelled, which he clearly wanted. No reason to… panic.

And to have that woman as the Headmistress! Ginny would not call her that, no matter what detention it meant. If Dumbledore wasn't able to do his job for some reason, Professor McGonagall was the only one who was supposed to be doing it for him!

But even with Dumbledore twisting the situation to suit him, Ginny was still half-waiting to hear that everyone who put their name on that list would be expelled. She wondered if Seamus put his name on the list when he stopped being a prat, just to be immediately punished for it. Or maybe he'd get off. Hermione said she didn't think Umbridge could expel them all, because it could be argued that it wasn't a student organization, and they were all just following their Headmaster's orders, and meetings hadn't been taking place, and they didn't know what they were doing. But the rebellious part of Ginny would rather have them all be expelled than Dumbledore leave the school, no matter what her parents thought about that.

"We need to talk," Draco's voice came from behind her.

She and Draco almost never spoke in public, aside from their Hogsmeade dates, and those seemed separate from the rest. He had never come over to the Gryffindor table, no more than she had been to the Slytherin one.

And he was clearly unhappy- when this hardly affected him at all. He wasn't the one who might get expelled. He didn't just lose the leader of the Order of the Phoenix being at Hogwarts- well, he wouldn't care about that. Even if he didn't like Umbridge, it made his life easier that Umbridge liked him.

"Sure," Ginny said as neutrally as possible, and stood from the table, leading the way out the hall, because that way, she could pick where they talked.

*****Draco*****

"Did you show Potter that place after I took you there for Valentine's Day?" Draco demanded, when they were in a small room near the kitchens.

Ginny seemed as ready for a fight as he was, "No, I didn't! Everything isn't about you! Dobby showed Harry the room in October. And actually, Dumbledore already knew about the place. We've had meetings since the first Hogsmeade weekend last term at the Hog's Head, it's why your good friend Umbridge banned all clubs the next day!" Ginny shouted back.

Since October.

"Even better! Not only did you pretend not to know about the room- which is lying- but it's good to know that you never tried for us to work at all. You were ditching me on our very first date. You just had to be in the great Dumbledore's group. Because everyone loves the all-powerful, all-knowing Dumbledore. Dumbledore who doesn't care anything about anyone but his precious Gryffindors. Oh, Slytherin's celebrating winning the house cup? Better give hundreds of points to Gryffindor because precious Potter had an adventure and violated a hundred school rules! The bloody banners were already hung up and he changed them! But Dumbledore is so great that it's always safe when he's around- except it's never safe! Death Eaters as teachers and the-" he wasn't quite far enough gone to say basilisk or diary.

"-Werewolf, and dementors! Last year I got turned into a ferret and bounced around on my head by a Death Eater while a bunch of Gryffindors laughed! You're part of a little club where everyone's allowed except for Slytherins. Who's the prejudiced one now? You have no idea what it feels like for three quarters of the school to think you and anyone sorted into your house should just get chucked out of the castle because we're all evil!" he shrieked.

It was whispered often enough, they'd all heard it.

"Well if they did, then Tom wouldn't have learned magic, now would he?" Ginny shouted.

"And now you're comparing me to HIM! How the hell do you think you have the mighty high ground here, you bloody hypocrite! Maybe if everyone didn't tell him that Slytherin was the evil house, he wouldn't have been bloody evil. Or maybe he was just born evil, but the rest of us weren't!"

"You're twisting my words!" Ginny shouted back. "I didn't say I agreed," she said.

"Well, you're being an awful bitch!"

"Why are you even upset?" Ginny challenged, quietly but coldly… like she was better than him, "I can do things in my spare time. I don't know everything you do. Are you jealous that you weren't in the club? Jealous that I was spending time with Harry? I told you I don't even like him anymore, and you just don't believe me!"

"Oh, I won't believe you? Maybe I'm upset because you clearly don't trust me! We're supposed to be honest and all that rot. What do you call sneaking around to secret club meetings? I bet Hogsmeade wasn't the only time. Practicing spells with Luna? Really? What about the forty other people there?"

"I was practicing with Luna. I didn't lie. And you didn't ask anything else, did you?" Ginny snapped.

"Oh good! At least we have some clear guidelines now! So, I can break whatever the hell rules and actual ministry laws that I want and risk expulsion, so long as you don't specifically ask me if I'm in an organization against the government!" Draco lashed back. "An army?" He- knew that Potter was in this fight… and even that her family was, but there was no way that a fourteen-year-old witch needed to be in any army.

"It's just a name, a name that I came up with, and Harry loved it. Everyone loved it. Because some people think I have good ideas!" Ginny shrieked.

"Oh yeah, and I'm going to be hearing about your good ideas for the rest of my life! If I'm lucky, that won't be long, because dying is the only way I'm going to get away from YOU! I CAN'T WAIT!" Draco shouted and ran from the room, casting a spell to lock the door behind him to give him a little more time.

Because he had wanted the last word.

Because he was an angry.

And even mother would probably say he was being a petulant child.

And he was going to regret all of that soon.

Or maybe he wasn't, because she was no better.

*****Ginny*****

Ginny had thought for sure that Malfoy's Nimbus 2001 wouldn't be there for her next practice, or would certainly be gone by the next, but it was still there. And if anything, that made her feel worse. He was furious with her, but hadn't hurt her in the easiest way available to him, taking his own broom away, when no one would even blame him.

But he didn't have to go and join Umbridge's group of personal lackeys. The Inquisitorial Squad. It was all Slytherins, and most of Draco's year was in it. And he had complained that she had been in a prejudiced group. And, she saw him talking with Crabbe and Goyle more again. Those two couldn't possibly have an interesting thing to say between them.

And their letters had stopped, and their private meetings too- for talking and good snogging. And if they had still been on good terms, Draco probably could have gotten further than they had been going soon. Not anything close to sex yet but… the Room of Requirement did have so much more potential than their old meeting room.

But now, Ginny couldn't even think of that room without feeling guilty. But what was she supposed to have done? She hadn't wanted to just not learn defence, and she certainly wasn't going to learn anything from Umbridge. And she couldn't have really told Draco. How could that have possibly gone well?

The castle was awful without Dumbledore, no one with more power than Umbridge. Ginny was glad that the bitch couldn't get into Dumbledore's office at least. It made Ginny feel like the castle was on their side.

*****Draco*****

Draco wondered if he would have known that the fireworks had come from Fred and George Weasley if Ginny hadn't already told him about some of their inventions.

"Fireworks" hardly encompassed what these were, some larger than a person and moving anywhere they pleased. Stunning got rid of them… if you didn't mind endangering everything and everyone around at the time. Vanishing just made more of them. And no professors who might have been equipped to deal with the spectacle felt any motivation to do anything of the sort.

Anyone with half a brain could connect the current chaos in the castle to displeasure over Dumbledore's departure and Dolores Umbridge's appointment as Headmistress, and possibly over the Inquisitorial Squad itself. So, naturally, first years knew what was happening, but Crabbe and Goyle didn't. And yet, those two were among those selected to join Umbridge's little group- along with Draco himself. Draco wasn't quite sure why he accepted. No, it was probably to spite Ginny, and possibly to dock points from Potter.

"Draco, so glad to see you have accepted my offer. Come, take a seat with the others," the woman had said.

Draco sat between Montague and Bullstrode, because there hadn't been a seat next to Crabbe or Goyle. Not that Draco needed those idiots. Warrington was on the far side of Montague, another member of the Slytherin quidditch team. Pansy had moved her chair a bit further forward than the others. She had been one of the ones who had caught Dumbledore's little club, and now probably thought she was the leader of this one. Nott leaned backwards in his chair, like he was distancing himself from all of it, but he was still there. Filch was there too, lingering in the back of the room. Had Umbridge really decided that Filch would be her closest ally on the staff? Probably the unpleasant squib was the only one who would tolerate her.

"As you all know, we Slytherins must stick together, because the rest of the castle does not believe our ways, even those who should know better and respect the Ministry," she scolded the non-present supposed non-believers. As if anyone in Slytherin really liked her. She certainly didn't have the support of their Head of House. And she probably picked most of Draco's year because they all hated Potter, and knew him best.

She should have at least tried for a little house diversity. No Gryffindor would have joined, but she probably could have gotten at least a few Ravenclaws trying to win her approval.

"You will, of course, be interested in the new privileges and powers you will have under my care," she led.

This was what they really wanted.

With OWLs approaching, Easter holiday was no less work than any other time in the year. Not a single fifth year went home that Draco knew of, though few students ever left the castle over the holiday.

Every time Ginny walked into the Great Hall, she looked at the high table first, and then not again for the rest of the meal. She sat on either side of the long table, but never looked at him.

*****Ginny*****

Ginny finished with a quidditch practice that was actually decent- she'd caught the snitch plenty of times- probably thanks to the extra practice she had been getting in with the snitch Draco had gotten her as an early Christmas present… and Ron had only missed the really good shots.

"Misters and Miss Weasley," their Head of House greeted. "I am not sure how I am to give these to you without speaking to you outside of class material," she drawled almost like Snape. Everyone hated Umbridge. But our Delores informed me that these highly suspect Easter sweets have passed her new, thorough inspection process," Professor McGonagall said. Ginny admired how she bordered without quite crossing insubordination there.

"Thank you, Professor," Ginny said, reaching first for the sweets. Easter eggs from Mum were fun. Fred and George swept into elaborate bows, and the Chaser girls laughed.

Ron's egg was devoured before they even reached the tower. George split his with Angelina on their way back to the Common Room. If he'd told Mum about her, she'd have gotten her own. Lee had one, even.

"Hermione, Easter egg from Mum," Ginny declared, setting the proper egg down in front of the witch surrounded by a mountain of books. "And where's Harry?" she asked.

"Oh- thank you. And- I left him in the library some time ago. I don't think he's come back," Hermione said, looking around suddenly worried.

"Won't be curfew for a while, and I could use a run by the library," Ginny invented. Mostly, she wasn't as busy as any of the fifth years studying for OWLs, and if Hermione had any more worrying to do, she'd probably explode.

Ginny found Harry easily, book open but staring at nothing, and looking like somebody died.

"Hey, you okay? Package from Mum," she declared.

Harry didn't look up or respond, and no one else was around.

"Harry, I'm talking to you. Can you hear me?" she asked cautiously. She knew he was prone to… introspection, but this was an extreme.

"Huh?" he startled, looking around.

"Oh, hi. Don't you have quidditch practice?" he frowned. So he hadn't looked out a window either.

"Angelina usually lets us leave after a few hours," Ginny half joked. But it was somewhat serious, and becoming a problem as Angelina was keeping them later. She seemed to think if Ron just got enough practice, he'd be better- or the rest of them would be good enough to compensate. And perhaps it was working. "McGonagall found us and gave us this. Just made it through Umbridge's new inspection process. I suppose our High Inquisitor determined that Easter eggs were not subversive to the government. Anyway, here's yours," Ginny said.

She handed Harry the carefully hand-made egg decorated with snitches. It was lovely, but not a decoration she would have chosen for Harry, since he was currently unable to play the game, or even fly. Harry looked worse when he held the egg. He'd had a rough year- lots of detentions, banned from quidditch, Dumbledore gone, and his relationship going as poorly as Ginny's. That last bit was it, she imagined. Mariette was Cho's best friend.

"Are you okay, Harry?" she asked.

"'M fine," Harry grunted. But Ginny was a bit of an expert with interpreting teenage boy language.

"You know, I'm sure if you just talked to Cho…" she suggested delicately.

"It's not Cho I want to talk to," Harry snapped.

"But you want to talk to someone," Ginny countered.

"I-" Harry looked around nervously- broadcasting that he had something important to say, if anyone had been watching them. "I want to talk to Sirius, but I know I can't," he said. He didn't even use the code name 'Snuffles,' and 'Sirius' was not a very common name.

So, she'd been wrong. She'd projected her own worries onto Harry. Harry wanted to talk to Sirius about something important, probably not even related to Cho, because Sirius was the closest thing Harry had ever known to a father- even if any objective eyes could tell that Sirius Black was… fun, but not father material.

"Well, if you really need to talk to Sirius," Ginny said slowly, "I imagine we could think of a way to make that happen," Ginny finished. There were ways in and out of the castle.

Harry looked skeptical, "With Umbridge monitoring the floos and searching all our post?" he asked.

"Anything's possible if you've got enough nerve," Ginny maintained. They'd already had the DA. This couldn't possibly break more rules than that.

And Harry was looking at her and smiling, in a friendly trusting way that Ginny would have given almost anything to see from him even a year ago. Now, it just made her feel guilty, and not for all the rules they'd probably break in the next few days.

"It's nearly curfew," Madame Pince warned them before shrieking, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH CHOCOLATE NEAR MY BOOKS!"

Ginny tried and failed not to laugh as the old librarian chased them out of the library. All of Harry's things followed behind them, thumping into the back of Harry's head when the witch thought Harry wasn't moving quickly enough. Ginny was formulating possible plans. Most of them started with getting help from Fred and George.

*****Draco*****

Draco perused the schedule that Snape had put up for fifth years to speak to him about their career options. Draco's appointment would be Monday late afternoon, and Draco wasn't even going to miss any classes like some of the other students. Draco chuckled when he saw that students were missing Umbridge's class, as well as History, Creatures, and Divination. Classes that Snape deemed acceptable to miss. Draco wondered if Muggle studies would have been deemed the same, except no Slytherin in Draco's year was taking it.

He hadn't enjoyed the Easter holiday, but he still regretted that it was over. It would have been enjoyable if he had spent the warmer afternoons with Ginny. He hadn't even bothered going to Hogsmeade.

"Sit down, Draco," Professor Snape addressed late that Monday afternoon. Was that supposed to put him at ease? The man had almost exclusively called Draco 'Mr. Malfoy' since Draco had come to Hogwarts. "Have you put thought into your courses for next term?" he asked.

"I thought I would keep the core classes, except for History of Magic and Astronomy," Draco answered. Though Herbology seemed near useless as well, he did not quite want to tell that to the potions master. Draco had no interest in preparing his own ingredients.

"Assuming you perform as well on your OWLs as your regular marks, you may manage each of them," the man acknowledged. "I do suggest that if you wish to continue in Defence Against the Dark Arts, you focus on some of the practical application that will be a large component of the OWL. What of Ancient Runes?" he questioned.

"I- do not have a passion for the material and had not intended to continue," Draco worded.

His Head of House raised an eyebrow and nodded. "So you do have a passion for your other courses? Potions? Herbology?"

"I've always liked potions," Draco answered. And it had been true since the man in front of him had given him a small pewter cauldron and child-safe ingredients when Draco was seven. Draco had preferred the racing broom from his father, of course, but potions had been interesting as well.

"And what do you intend to pursue after graduation?" Snape questioned.

"Go into the Ministry," Draco answered with far more confidence than he felt.

"Your father does have a myriad of connections. What department?" he questioned.

Draco had intended to figure out the rest of his life before this point. But that had been altered, perhaps by Ginny Weasley coming into his life, or finding out his father was truly a Death Eater, or seeing… Tom in person, or fighting with Ginny.

"I also have an interest in banking," Draco said, because that was how his father described himself sometimes. As far as Draco could tell, it meant that Lucius Malfoy enjoyed being independently wealthy and watching his money. And 'independently wealthy' was a description for someone not needing other income to be wealthy, but it seemed like it should be called 'dependently wealthy, because his father was only wealthy because his grandfather and great-grandfather, and generations before had been wealthy before him.

"The goblins who control our banking system have nothing more than a reluctant accord with your father, and anyone seeking a position in their midst would need further knowledge of either Ancient Runes or Arithmancy," the man informed him. Which was not what Draco had meant.

"I have interest in the department of Magical Transportation, Games and Sports, and International Cooperation," Draco spouted out, and it was mostly true, though it would probably be dull.

"International Cooperation would require more thorough knowledge of our history. However, some students find it manageable to sit for the History of Magic NEWT after independent revision," Snape said. Because Binns's class was worthless.

"I will take that under consideration," Draco promised.

"Your social activities have not gone unnoticed this year, Draco. Meetings with Miss Weasley and their discontinuation, as well as your membership to our High Inquisitor's organization," he said. No one called her the Headmistress when she wasn't around, even other teachers.

"I didn't violate any rules. And are you saying this to all the fifth year students who are part of it?" Draco dared ask.

Severus Snape sneered, "You joined an organization because of your peers, and perhaps because you were angry with Miss Weasley. Is that the way you intend to live the rest of your life, Draco?"

Was this a discussion about the Inquisitorial Squad or something else? Is that why Snape joined the Death Eaters? Because everyone around him was doing it, and maybe because he was mad at someone else? What about Draco's father?

"I'm only fifteen," Draco said. "Aren't I supposed to be receiving career advice at this time?" Draco asked as plainly as he dared. What was Snape saying: 'Don't make the mistakes I did?' or was it, 'Why are you associating with Umbridge? She's going to come out poorly before the end of this year and everyone should know that.' Or even further, did he mean, 'You should do the sensible thing and become a Death Eater, and get a job based on a connection your father has, because otherwise you will have no sort of future. And you'll always fight with Miss Weasley, so get used to it and don't be an idiot about it.'

"Surely you realize that it is not so simple," Snape said. And that was the end of their conversation, because of the disturbances that could probably be heard in Hogsmeade.

The Weasley twins were doing fireworks again. Bigger than ever by the sound of it.

Draco ran after Professor Snape towards the origin of the noise, which didn't seem to have fireworks present. Draco backed away when he saw Umbridge, Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle all struggling on the ground of what no longer looked like a hallway, but an unpleasant piece of nature, possibly a swamp. They must have come running from the noise and slipped into it.

The sneer on Professor Snape's face didn't look as unhappy as it usually did.