I cannot believe it's been 6 months since I've updated this! I am so, so sorry! I guess I just lost inspiration on this part of the story for a bit. But writing this chapter has re-inspired me to continue it. I hope you guys are still interested.
Ginny and Luna began work on the DA coins and managed to send out the time and date to the upcoming meeting after dinner. They planned to meet the next day after dinner in the Room of Requirement.
The next day Ginny, Luna and Neville spend the day passing on the message that yes, the DA was back on, yes they were meeting tonight at 8pm, and yes it would really be in the Room of Requirement even after what happened last time. They advised those interested to arrive individually or only in groups of two and to try to time their arrivals separately from others.
Ginny had contacted Malfoy using the parchment earlier in the day to make sure he arrived after everyone else. She wanted to make sure that she would have some time to explain to everyone that he was on their side against the Carrows and that if they wanted to stay they would have to accept him in the group. Having to do this made her nervous because she wasn't sure how people would respond to her leadership and she was already going to have to ask them for something as huge as letting Malfoy join them.
It was time for the DA meeting much too soon for Ginny's nerves. She and Neville left Gryffindor tower together and would meet Luna at the Room's entrance. Together all three entered the Room of Requirement fully equipped with their old DA meeting things. The room filled itself with practice dummies, cushions, a few armchairs and their old mirror. It looked just as before but they all knew things would never be the same.
They were missing three key people. Harry, Ron and Hermione were truly the heart of the DA. Their absence weighed heavily in Ginny, Luna and Neville's minds. However, this new trio were determined not to replace the "Golden" trio but to make their work easier starting with the Hogwarts students.
At 8 o'clock sharp students began trickling in. The group turned out to be much smaller than before since not all students had returned to Hogwarts. The greatest absences were of those of Muggle decent who were a great number of those who made up the original DA. Once Ginny saw that no more students were coming in, she stepped forward to let them know how things would be this time around.
"Welcome everyone, thanks for coming."
At these words everyone cheered. "When do we get started?" somebody shouted amongst the cheers.
"Well…"she was cut off again.
"Are you the new leader of the DA?"
"Do we start where we left of last time, or are we going to help the new members catch up to us old timers?"
Everything seemed to be getting out of control. Everyone was too excited to be back that all they wanted was to get to the actual training. Nobody was listening to Ginny anymore.
Luckily Neville came to her rescue, "Hey, let her speak. There's a few things we have to go over before we get started."
"Like what?" they heard a Ravenclaw standing in the back of the crowd ask.
"Well," Ginny started again, "for starters, Luna, Neville and I will be leading the DA seeing as Harry, Ron and Hermione are not back this year."
Everyone started whispering amongst themselves and this encouraged her to keep going.
"We are here this time because every single one of us has suffered through one or multiple detentions with the Carrows. It has turned just like it was with Umbridge, or perhaps even worse. So here we are, but this time we not only have to learn to defend ourselves in a duel, but to learn how to defend ourselves from the punishments we receive during detention."
At these words, Ginny heard lots of excitement and she hoped that what she had to tell them next would not discourage them from continuing on.
"To learn how to defend ourselves from the cruel punishments of the Carrows and their student assistants, I had to recruit the help of someone. This person has also been the target of the Carrows and has agreed to help us against them."
Everyone was silent. Then Ginny heard them start to wonder who she could have asked for help against the Carrows that wasn't already present. It was that moment that Malfoy decided to make his entrance and everyone in the room turned to see who it was.
Ginny beckoned him to come forward and when he was standing next to her she confidently said, "Malfoy is the new member of the DA."
She gave them some time to shout their disapproval before she had their attention again. "Malfoy has been in detention almost every night since term started because of reasons most of us are already aware of." She was glad that he still had some bruises on his face to show the rest of the students. "As you can clearly see, on his face are the signs of those nights spent in detention. They are the same as the ones that we have all been through, myself included. Malfoy and I talked and we came to an arrangement. He would help us with the Carrows and we will help him with something we agreed upon privately."
"He's a Slytherin, Weasley."
"No way is he going to help us.
"He's probably here as a spy and is going to turn us in for being here."
At this, some people made to leave but stopped when Draco started to speak. "I gave my word to Weasley that I would help with the Carrows and I intend to keep it. She's helping me out with my mother if I help you resist the curses used by the Carrows and the other Slytherins."
Everyone seemed to more or less accept his words. Many students were still unsure if it was a good idea, but they trusted Ginny and her judgment. They also knew that the Malfoy family was in deep trouble with the Death Eaters because of the incidents of previous years and if Malfoy was willing to help to get help for his mother, then he had to do everything Ginny said.
After singing up and issuing Malfoy a few threats if he betrayed them, they were all free to leave. They would be contacted for the next meeting using the coins. New members each left with a new coin while old members proudly showed off the ones they already had. In the end, only the new trio and Malfoy remained in the Room.
"Well that went better than I thought. I thought for sure no one would want to stay when they saw you were in the DA, Malfoy," Neville said looking at Draco.
"Yeah, well they know for a fact that Malfoy has spent lots of time with the Carrows and must have a plan on how to help us," Luna said cheerfully.
"I think there were other reasons why everyone decided to stay." She gave Malfoy a thankful look. "Well its best we get going before patrol starts."
The last four made their way out of the Room carefully and she let Luna and Neville go ahead of her and Draco. Before they parted, Ginny motioned to her parchment and he nodded.
Later that night, Ginny got out of bed and headed down to the common room. She was glad it was late enough that it was empty. She set down the parchment, ink and quill and made herself comfortable on her favorite armchair.
She wrote, "Thanks for what you did today," and the words vanished as quickly as she wrote them. She hoped Draco was still awake, she had signaled to him that she would write to him.
A few minutes later his response appeared on the parchment. "Thanks for what?"
"For telling them about your mom. You didn't have to tell them that."
"I figured it would make them stay, make me seem human."
"I know that. Thanks for letting them see that side of you."
"You're welcome."
"I'll contact you with the next meeting."
"Sure, good night Weasley."
"Good night."
She waited for the words to vanish but quickly decided to add, "Hey Malfoy…"hoping he was still there.
"Yes Weasley, I will confirm the reality of our conversation tomorrow."
"No not that."
"Then what?"
"Call me Ginny, Weasley makes me think you're talking about my brother."
He took a minute before responding, "Fine, but then you have to call me Draco instead of Malfoy. Sure you can do that?"
"Of course I can."
"Good night, Ginny."
"Good night, Draco."
Thoughts? Questions? Comments? Rocks to my head for taking so long to update? Leave all of the above in a review if so.