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Meetings

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Chapter 5 - The Quarter Moon

She turned again, staring at the far wall. Her smile faded as well. The room was again silent.

"How long has it been?" she said.

"Almost four hours," He replied softly.

"They should have been back by now." Draco remained silent. Ginny shivered again, despite the warmth of his sweater. "I'm scared."

----

Ginny woke with a start. She blinked furiously, trying to clear her fuzzy vision. She was in her bed, the blankets pulled over her. She stretched and realized that she was still wearing her clothes from the day before, including Malfoy's sweater. Glancing at her clock she managed to read that it four 'o' clock in the morning. She tried to clear her head and sat up, looking around. Her door was shut. Draco was gone.

Her feet touched the floor. Her room was dark. She went to the window and pulled the curtains back, glancing outside. The land was dark. The lights were out in the houses next door, their inhabitants having gone to bed hours earlier. A few stars shone bright in the sky and a quarter moon looked down.

She turned again to her room, her mind still fighting against sleep. A bright light was shining out from under her door. She looked at it confused and slowly shuffled her way over to it. She listened. There were no noises. She carefully turned the knob and peered out.

Suddenly there was the sound. Ginny tried to hear what it was, but it was being muffled. She stepped out of her room and into the hall. She looked down it. All the doors were standing open, the lights off. The light in the hall shown bright, and she winced, her eyes not quite adjusted yet.

Ever so slowly she made her way to the stairs and made her way down them, trying to make her step as light as possible. The noise was becoming clearer. Her mind seemed to be fully working now. She crept along down the hall and stopped outside of the study. The door was shut and now she could hear several noises. People were whispering to each other, some heated, others consolingly. A person sniffed, and a chair scraped across the floor. She tried to make out what they were saying, but they were too deep and low. She hesitated, biting her lip, torn between going upstairs and minding her own business, and walking in on something that she would probably regret. Then her decision was made. She pushed open the door.

For a moment, Ginny thought about walking right back out of the room, and to deny anything later. Her eyes shifted around the room, taking in every person.

Charlie and Bill were there, their faces set in stone. Professor Lupin, Ron and Harry were talking with them. Mrs. Weasley was sitting on the settee, softly crying into a wet handkerchief. Tonks was next to her, one hand holding the older woman's, comforting her. Fred and George were huddled in a corner, whispering fervently with Shaklebolt, Hermione and Professor McGonagall. Her father was sitting in a chair at the desk, writing. Mad Eye Moody was standing over him. Only a few other members were also in the room, talking amongst themselves. All their faces were grave. No one was laughing.

She took one step back, ready to bolt from the room, surprisingly pleased to find that no one had noticed her. A solid object was in her way. She whirled around startled and looked up into the sharp grey eyes of Malfoy. His face was blank, and Ginny could tell that he hadn't slept at all that night. They didn't speak. Ginny looked down and turned back towards the room. Still no one paid her any mind till suddenly Moody started and jumped around, surprised.

"Ah!" he cried loudly, and a little flustered. "Ms. Ginny! What a surprise to see you awake at such a ungodly hour. Shouldn't you be in bed?" he said as though he hoped that she would vigorously agree and go back upstairs.

Everyone in the room stopped talking and quickly every eye was trained on her. Mrs. Weasley tried to hide her tears. She stood up shakily, with Tonks' help and walked over to Ginny.

"Ginny dear, I thought you would like to sleep. There was no reason for you to have come down." She tried to give Ginny a smile.

"What is going on?" Ginny asked. Everyone in the room shared glances and a few people shifted uncomfortably.

Mrs. Weasley's chin began to shake, and another tear coursed down her cheek. Tonks rushed over and ushered Molly back to the couch. Ginny looked around at every person. No one could meet her eye. Her father was still sitting at his desk and had yet to move. Finally Professor Lupin stepped forward and placed a hand on her arm.

"Perhaps right now is not the best--" he started.

Ginny recoiled from his hand and then walked over to Bill and Charlie. Her eyes had become fiery, her face flushed.

"Charles Buagard Weasley," she said, jabbing a finger in his chest. "You tell me what's going on - now." The last word was spoken low and dangerous.

"Ginny," he hesitated and glanced at the back of his father.

Harry stepped forward. "Maybe we should go into the kitchen and talk," he suggested somewhat brightly. Ginny whirled around and glared at him. He shrunk under her gaze.

"Unbelievable." Ginny was growing angrier by the second. "I am a member of the Order--"

A firm, but gentle hand grasped her shoulder.

"Let's go into the kitchen."

"Let me go, Malfoy." She tried to shake of his hand, but he remained steady.

"We are going into the kitchen." He gave a knowing nod to Harry, and started to usher her from the room. Harry, Ron and Bill followed.

She struggled the entire way, but had finally stopped talking. When they reached the kitchen, she broke loose from Malfoy's hand and glared at everyone.

"What the bloody hell is going on?" She demanded.

Malfoy pulled back a chair and pointed to it. "Sit down."

"I'm fine, thanks," she replied scathingly.

He scowled at her, and then took the seat himself. Ron and Harry followed suit, each taking a chair. Ron sat chose the seat furthest away from the blonde. Bill remained standing next to the door, his arms crossed.

"Am I still to be kept in the dark about what's going on?" She said after a long silence, in which only the clock in the hall could be heard. "Is this about Percy?"

Harry leaned forward on the table, sharing a glance with Ron. "Percy never showed up, Gin."

Ginny remained silent, but her eyes were still threatening.

"We waited till about midnight," Ron broke in. "Then we got an owl."

"Percy was at St. Mungo's," Harry said. Ginny's heart started to beat heavier, her brow creased. "Your father and Shacklebolt went immediately there." Harry stopped here and looked down at the table.

"What happened?" Ginny asked, anger forgotten.

"He's dead, Ginny," Draco spoke it, softly. "Your brother is dead."

Bill looked at the floor; Ron glared at Draco as best as he could before he had to look away. Harry sank down into his chair and stared at the ceiling. Draco kept his cool and watched her.

Numb. That was what Ginny was feeling.

"You're lying, right?" She knew they weren't but she still had to ask. When no one answered she shut her eyes. She wanted to cry, scream, throw something, kill someone. She forced her voice to be steady. "How?"

Draco glanced around the table and when he saw that no one else was going to speak, he took the liberty upon himself.

"They don't know what happened yet." His voice was indifferent yet comforting. Ginny wondered how he could tell someone something so horrifying and yet ease that person's pain at the same time. "The Healers said that the wounds were self-inflicted, but it appeared at though he was tied up and tortured."

"What?" Ginny asked breathless.

"There is no way that someone could go through that much pain by their own hand," Harry said, almost as if to himself. Ginny ignored him. She looked at Draco.

"They say that he was found outside of the Ministry. He was more dead then alive and someone took him to St. Mungo's."

Ginny pictured him there, strewn across the steps to the Ministry. His dress robes gone. His red hair matted down with mud and his blood. Cuts and bruises covered his body; a few teeth were missing from his mouth - maybe a finger or two as well. Blood everywhere, dripping down off of his limp hand, forming a pool, which would then drip down the steps. She fought the urge to throw-up.

A deafening silence filled the kitchen as they allowed the news to sink in. A thousand emotions ran through her mind. Anger was the most prevalent.

"That bloody idiot," she muttered. "How stupid can a thoughtless idiot get in the middle of a damn war?"

Ron and Draco looked at her in shock, while Harry looked at her bemused. Bill stepped forward, nodding.

"I agree." Ginny looked at him, surprised. But she was pleased that someone saw it from her side. "He worked at the Ministry. He knew exactly what they would do. He also knew that the Death Eaters would be watching his mail, just waiting for a moment to snatch him up and squeeze him for information." Everyone allowed this information to process. "Something doesn't add up right, now, does it?"

"What are you saying, Bill?" Ron asked, a little harshly. "That he was setting us up?"

"I don't know, Ronald," Bill said exasperated. "But something just doesn't sit right."

Wow this chapter was short. Sorry for those of you who were wishing for a longer one. Thank you for all the reviews!!!

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