A/N: i know it took me a very long time….im sorry….hopefully it wont take as long to get the other chapters up….and just so you know it wasn't just my slow typing that took so long..i had some stuff going on that hopefully is over…so…yea…thanks for the reviews and keepem comin! Thanks-manda

Chapter 18 Coping

"You know where to find me if you need me." Ginny whispered raising herself to the floor and leaving, Blaise and Draco right behind her. Ginny walked through the halls, students darting out of her way and when she reached their room she whispered "Immortality." And stepped through the hole.

"Gin, love?"

"How you holdin' up, Kitten?"

She turned to them, her eyes searing and the flames she'd long since learned to control seeping from her skin. "I'll kill him." She snarled.

"Save your rage for the war. Mourn when it's over." Draco whispered.

"We train for the war." She said

"Train? There's nothing left, we know everything."

"We can't shift yet." She said taking up her spot on the floor. "And I'm not leaving this spot until I can." They sat beside her falling into similar trances and calling their magic to mold their physical appearances.

Ron sat next to Harry in Dumbledore's office; his parents were standing behind the Headmaster. "Ron? Honey we will get through this." Arthur Weasley said.

"Ron, you alright?" Asked Harry

"No, I am not fucking alright, Potter." He spat and ran out of the office. He made it to the Ravenclaw dormitories in record time and began to beat on the statue. "Hermione." He screamed collapsing to the floor, tears running down his face. "'Mione…." He sobbed. The statue leapt aside and a boy he recognized from a couple of his classes stepped out.

"Ron? What're you doing here?"

"I was looking for Hermione but I didn't know the password." He whispered.

"Come on man," he said helping Ron to his feet. "I'll take you to her." He led him inside and up the stairs to the sixth year girls' room and knocked. The door opened after a second,

"Nathan, I'm a little busy what d… Ron? Bring him in, that bed there." She pointed to the first bed in the room. "Thank you." She whispered to the Ravenclaw as he left. "What happened?" she asked sitting beside him on the bed.

"They're dead… Percy and Bill… Voldemort killed them to get to Dumbledore and the Order and all that other bullshit. Harry was up there too, in Dumbledore's office... but I couldn't stay there."

"Why'd you come here?" she whispered.

"Hermione, don't play stupid right now, I need you." He lay down on the bed and Hermione curled up beside him wrapping her arms around him holding him close.

"I'm here." She whispered.

Draco and Blaise snapped out of their trances twos day later, their muscles sore, Ginny was still beside them; eyes closed, legs crossed, and a pained expression on her face. "Should we bring her back to take a break?" Draco asked.

"No, she'd never forgive us. She's doing this for Bill, best to just get back in there and keep trying." They cracked their joints and settled back in. The next day they all sprang forward in the firelight shifting and landed on padded paws, tails wagging.

'Bout fucking time.' Gin's voice rang in their heads. She walked around the room testing out her new legs and she laughed only it came out as a small bark. 'I didn't think wolves barked.'

'They usually don't, but that doesn't mean they can't.' Draco's voice said.

'We're all wolves, aren't we? Heh cool.' They could be told apart by their colors, Draco was completely white, Blaise solid black, and Ginny a red that almost looked brown- and actually appeared brown to muggles. 'So now that we've gotten this…what do we do?'

'Now we see if we really are the strongest wizards since the Ancients, we try to manage partial shifts.' Ginny looked over her shoulder and stared at her tail, trying to make it go away.

"Ha ha, I win!" Draco shouted his blond head sticking out of a wolf body.

'You look ridiculous.' That was Blaise in his head. The next hour was spent testing out every combination of partials they could think of, including a few less obvious ones. The one the guys liked most was Ginny keeping her tail and her sharp teeth, but nothing else- they had a lot to say about that. They most liked being able to ask if they could pet her tail, apparently that was hilarious as it sent them in to fits of laughter every time she wagged it. When they were through they went to the fridge and took out enough food for ten people and proceeded to eat every bit of it.

"It's either Gin or Ginevra from now on, no more Ginny- Bill hated that name…." she trailed off.

"We're here Gin, we are." Said Draco.

"And we always will be, no matter what we will always be with you." Blaise added dropping a kiss on her forehead.

"We were going to wake the Spirits before we took down Voldemort that was the plan. If we're still going to do that we need to get them up now." She said as they finished eating. "We aren't going to hold this war of forever. When everyone wakes up I'm going to speak with the school, and then we'll need to talk to Dumbledore. We're through training, we're gonna need an army to fight this war." They all stood and started getting ready, when they had all taken showers and were properly groomed and dressed in black they made their way to the Great Hall. They walked in; Gin ahead of Draco and Blaise, and the Hall went silent as they spoke in hushed voices to the Headmaster before turning around. They stood before the school, in front of the Head Table, and she spoke:

"By now I'm sure all of you have heard about the act of war Voldemort has committed, and I am sure that a good number of you have lost family and loved ones as I have. But I stand before you now, not as a grieving sister, but as a leader in the coming war. Yes, there will be a war and I'm here to ask you to stand by me in it. For years we have all waited for something bad to happen, and lately we've watched people die, hoping we wouldn't be next. Now he wants a war, and I say it's time we give him one. No more hiding in fear, no more waiting for him to pick us off one by one, if he wants a war, let's give him one."

"Do you know what you're asking?" someone shouted.

"I do. Slytherins I'm asking you to stand against your parents, to fight those who have tried to force you to be something you don't want to be. Hufflepuffs I'm asking you to find the courage to follow your hearts and show people what being a Hufflepuff really means. Ravenclaws I'm asking you to put down your books and show us that knowledge is more than the written word; that it's being able to do the things you've learned. Gryffindors, when I was among you, you treated me like shit most of the time. Made me think it was a curse to be one of you, I'm asking you to prove me wrong. Show the world what it means to be a Gryffindor. Harry, I do not ask you to fight this war, you finally have a chance for a life of your own and I do not want to be the one that takes that away from you, should you fight in this war it would be of your own will." She searched the crowd and when she saw him she made her way towards him. "I stand before you, Ronald Weasley, asking you to help me avenge our brothers." She choked out and extended her hand to him. He took it and stood pulling her into a hug. She made her way back to the front, Ron and Hermione behind her, "I am asking all of you to stand with me on the field of battle-very possibly the grounds of Hogwarts- and fight the son-of-a-bitch that has made our lives a living Hell!" She shouted. "I am asking you to face your fears, follow your hearts, and stand in the face of death for our families, our friends, and the entire world! I am asking you to go to war with me." The Hall erupted into cheers and people were screaming "I will fight for you!", "I will.", and "To war!". Ginevra turned to the Headmaster, the ghost of a smile on her lips. "And I ask you to prepare Hogwarts for battle." Dumbledore searched the faces of his Professors, each nodding and saying "I accept.". He faced the woman who stood before him,

"My office after breakfast?"

"We're ready when you are."

"Let us go now then." The old man stood and the three Slytherins followed him to his office. "Please, have a seat."

"Straight to business; I know you were building an army, Dumbledore, and we need to know everything about it. We need to know who you had, who you were negotiating with, who you wanted, and who is against us."

"I had the Order, some of other wizards who believed he was back, we were negotiating with the trolls, and I was in talks with your brother, Charlie, for the Dragons."

"Will they still fight for you?" she asked.

"The wizard and the Dragons will most likely, but the Trolls," he paused "I doubt it."

"We need to slip into the Forbidden Forest for a little while." Draco said.

"We have some… business we need to tend to." Added Blaise.

"Guys, Dumbledore knew about us before we did so let's cut the crap." Gin said looking at them.

"Alrighty then, we need to go wake the Spirits up from a little nap, mkay?" Draco rolled his eyes when he spoke.

"I don't know how long we're gonna be in there, it might take a while. Dumbledore, we know Hogwarts will fight, but they aren't ready. Will you train them?" Gin looked at the older man.

"I will, but the war is in your hands now, the army, the planning, it's all yours. I'm getting too old for this. Ginny, I'm sorry things happened the way they did."

"It isn't your fault, and it's Ginevra now, for Bill."

"He died honorably; he fought protecting Diagon Alley and all the people in it, wizard and muggle alike."

"Thank you, Sir."

"Ok, it's time to move out." Blaise said leading Ginevra through the door and back down to the Dungeons. They all changed in silence when they got back to their room. When they walked out their door another ten minutes later they were all wearing shorts, tanks, and dragon-hide boots. Gin even had a strip of dragon-hide that was spelled to hold her wand until she needed it and to fit anywhere, at the moment it was overlapping her shorts, high on her thigh. They were dressed in all black as they crossed the grounds at a fast walk, when they reached the edge of the forest she turned to them.

"Stop at the first big enough clearing, should be a couple of hours in at least."

"Man am I glad we don't lose our clothes when we shift." Draco smirked and leapt forward through the trees, his body changing before their eyes.

"He makes it look so sexy." She whispered shivering.

"If you're cold you shouldn't have worn shorts."

"Not cold, he just gave me goose bumps." She leapt into the air and chased after him not waiting for Blaise to catch up, she knew he was right on her tail. They raced through the trees and vines as the sun rose above them, though they could not see it through the thick roof of the forest. When Draco burst through the wall of ivy into a huge clearing he skidded to a stop and howled, minutes later Ginevra and Blaise came crashing in to find Draco already sitting in his trance towards the middle of the miniature valley.

"Makes ya wonder just how big the forest is and what all's in here…." Blaise said softly.

"Not really, let's just get to work."

"Gin," he whispered looking at her through sad eyes.

"I'm trying not to break down here Blaise, and that means I have to keep it all in, every last bit of it. Come on." She sat next to the gorgeous blond already finding his center, and began to draw on her magic as well. Blaise sat between them and closed his eyes surrendering to the Earth. Blaise was funneling himself down through the Earth but started losing contact with his body. Draco and Ginevra each grabbed one of his hands and tied their magic to his, allowing him to sink deeper. The sun was hidden behind the greenery and back at the castle students were leaving lunch and heading back to classes. Back in the forest Ginevra and Draco's eyes snapped open and they stared at Blaise, waiting. The dark Slytherin turned his head with eyes still closed to the opposite side of the clearing, facing the rest of the forest. His eyes fluttered open and he stood, not looking at his lovers. Draco and Ginevra followed his lead and stood as well, they watched the bushes and the ivy waiting on something to fly through the wall of green towards them; all they got was a fox who came out slowly and watched them.

"It's just a fox." Draco said looking at Blaise. Gin poked him in the side and pointed to the roof of the trees where the leaves were shifting to allow a ray of light in to the clearing near the fox.

"They're here." She whispered and Draco raised an eyebrow at her but dropped it when the ivy started to take shape on the other side of the fox. The light was moving and when Ginevra looked at it she saw a person inside it, she looked at the bit of forest that was taking shape and it too was forming into a person.

"We are waiting for one more." It sounded like music, warm music, when the Spirit of the Weather spoke through the light.

"Water." Draco said looking at the other Spirits. "Weather, Creatures, Plants, and…"

"Me." The figure of water said pooling out from a bush and raising itself up to take shape. Gin smiled and spoke,

"You aren't really talking are you? In fact, you aren't really here."

"What are you… oh. We're still in our trances sitting in our little triangle," he looked at the Spirits "and you're in all of our heads."

"Very good." The Spirit of the Creatures said wagging his bushy tail.

"We are glad you are stronger than you were last time, and that you've found my other half." Said Weather.

"But we won't go to war with you." The Plants spoke this time and Draco squinted looking for a mouth in all the vines.

"We don't want you to fight, but we do want you to come out of your little… slumber." He said.

"We will not come out while war is going on, and we do not want our home destroyed during your war."

"Ok first off I'm tired of people calling this my war. Second, you don't have to and we will try to protect the forest. Third, we want you to come out of hiding when the war is over, when we win, that is. We want you to live out in the open,"

"Well, as open as we live with muggles running around an all." Draco interjected and Ginevra rolled her eyes.

"Right, but we want you to live freely, live with us. Will you come out when the war is over?"

The Spirits shared a look and then Water spoke up, "When Voldemort is destroyed and it is safe, yes, we will return to the world. Now since we will not participate in this war, we will give you gifts that will aid you in battle." The Spirits formed a small circle and began to glow. The Slytherins had to turn their backs to the Spirits when the light grew too bright and they gasped when they felt power pressing into their backs between their shoulder blades. All of their eyes were instantly black and flamed when they dropped to the ground, digging their fingers into the Earth and trying to breathe. They let their air out in a rush when their backs split open and blood trickled down their sides soaking into their now torn tanks. Ginevra stood first and looked over her shoulder at the black leathery wings now extending from her back. When the flames in her eyes looked upon the wings on her back the flame jumped to them and they were enveloped in the same fire leaving her eyes a blank black. She turned to face the Spirits and her voice was not her own when she spoke.

"Thanks," she put her hand up to her throat and cleared it before speaking again. "Flaming wings." She looked confused when the voice coming from her mouth still wasn't hers. "What's going on?" Gin asked them.

"It is still your voice, but it is also us as well, you have our sounds in your voice when you use your wings." They all said together. Draco and Blaise finally stood and looked at the Spirits.

"What will we sound like to everyone else?"

"You will sound like the wind blowing through the trees, like the falling rain, like nature." They said.

"Why aren't our wings and eyes like Gin's?" Draco asked.

"She wanted it that way, that's the only way I know how to say it, you decide when you want your wings and when they are covered in your magic. It's all up to you. But just so you know when your magic is on your wings and you are flying your magic will fall and trail behind you, so be cautious until you learn to control it, though I doubt that will take long."

"Will the wings work on our Animagus forms?" Gin asked.

"They will come to you no matter what form you take. Now we must go, time travels different here, it's only been a few minutes in here but it is after curfew back at your Castle."

"Thank you." Gin and Draco said together. The Spirits disappeared but their voices sounded in all three of their heads.

'Brother, it was always you, but do not fear you will live on forever. I look to your return.'

'Dragon, the time is coming. Lucius will be the lesser pain of the war, be ready to protect.'

'You will get your revenge before long but be prepared to lose more before the end. The hardest thing in this world is living in it.'

They opened their eyes at the same time and looked around but could see nothing through the darkness. Ginevra touched her back where her wings should have been but found only her torn and bloody tank top. She closed her eyes and called on them and screamed when they burst from her back for the second time that night.

"Fuck! That's gonna take some getting used to." She let her fire fill her eyes so she could see in the others.

They screamed and their wings were suddenly there. "Alright let's get back." Gin said giving her wings a couple of practice flaps before leaping into the air and letting them take her full weight. She strained for a minute, hovering over the ground and then she soared upwards, breaking through the roof of the forest. Draco and Blaise rose behind her as she flew towards Dumbledore's tower, the moonlight bouncing off their huge black wings.