Disclaimer: Unfortunately, my name isn't J. K. Rowling...which means that I own nothing. While you guys read, I'll go cry in a corner about the fact that I didn't create this marvelous world and these amazing characters.

The silver cat disappeared after its message and silence spread out in cold ripples from the place where the Patronus had landed. And then somebody screamed.

All the guests were sprinting in every direction and I was being buffeted by them. A hand snaked out of nowhere and grabbed my wrist, pulling me to the side. I fell against Adrian and he caught me. Luna was clinging to his sleeve, murmuring something about finding her dad.

I whirled around in the chaos and saw that many guests were disapparating. The protective enchantments around the house had been broken and now anybody could get in or out.

Suddenly, cloaked and masked figures started appearing in the crowd and I recognized them as Death Eaters.

"This way," yelled Adrian, pulling Luna and I away from the nearest Death Eater.

Adrian pulled us past Lupin and Tonks who both pulled out their wands and started firing spells at the Death Eaters.

"I have to find my dad," Luna yelled. She pulled away from Adrian and not even a second later, she was lost in the crowd.

"Do you have your wand?" I asked.

"No, do you?"

"No! Adrian, we have to hide. We have nothing to defend ourselves."

A blast of light suddenly streaked over our heads and we had to duck quickly to avoid getting hit.

"Where can we go?" asked Adrian, moving forward in a crouch around people's running feet.

"You have to find your parents. They'll be looking for you," I said. "I have to go find mine."

Without waiting for a reply, I turned and weaved into the crowd. I was being pushed every which way but I used my elbows to my advantage. I ducked as a Death Eater shot a curse at me and an unbidden thought entered my mind.

What if Draco and Astoria were under two of the masks?

"Ginny!" yelled a voice. I turned to see Fred wrestling his way over to me. I ducked behind a table as another spell was fired and Fred quickly joined me.

"Where's mum and dad?" I yelled over the screaming.

"Mum wants you to go hide!"

"Where? I can't hide in the house because they'll obviously search there!"

Fred thought for a second and I became more and more agitated as I heard the screams and running feet.

"Go down to the lake. Stay there until you can't hear anymore fighting," said Fred.

"Are you mad?!"

"You're underage, Gin," said Fred, impatience lacing his voice. "Go."

"I don't have my wand," I said.

Fred peeked his head over the table and pointed his wand at the house. "Accio Ginny's wand!"

A second later, my wand flew through the air towards me and I caught it.

"There," said Fred. "Use that if you need it."

Fred jumped out from behind the table and rejoined the fray. I clutched my wand as I dashed out from behind the table.

Unfortunately, I didn't make it to the lake. The Death Eaters seemed to have contained the crowd of people trying to escape and now they surrounded everyone who was under the canopy. I had just pushed past a group of groaning ladies when I saw that there was no way out from under the canopy.

I spotted Bill and Fleur with Gabrielle clutching Fleur's skirt and I quickly joined them. Bill was clutching Fleur's hand and when I moved to stand by him, he patted me quickly on the shoulder to make sure I was alright before turning his wand back to the Death Eaters.

I managed to find mum and dad standing in the crowd with some relatives. Hagrid was pressed to the back, supporting a clearly drunk Charlie while Fred and George were standing near Tonks and Lupin. Madame and Monsieur Delacour were also surrounded by a gaggle of relatives.

A big Death Eater stepped forward and addressed the crowd. "Where is Harry Potter?"

Now that he mentioned it, where was Harry? The last time I had seen him, he was talking with Hermione at one of the tables. With a lurch of my stomach, I realized that the trio had probably escaped during the chaos to start their mission. At least I knew that they escaped this scrape with Death Eaters.

"We would never sell out Harry Potter to you," said Lupin, stepping forward slightly from the group.

"We don't know where he is," Auntie Muriel said hurriedly before any of the Death Eaters could say anything.

I mentally shook my head. Auntie Muriel was always about her own safety and comfort.

"But we wouldn't tell you even if we did know," said dad, moving away from the gaggle of relatives to stand forward like Lupin.

Even with a mask on, I could tell that the big Death Eater was sneering. "If you're as sure as you seem about not knowing the whereabouts of Harry Potter, then you wouldn't mind if we questioned everyone so we can make sure that everyone is on the same page?"

I watched as Lupin faced the Death Eater square on. Only the bobbing of his Adam's apple betrayed any nervousness he felt. "We have nothing to hide."

The big Death Eater turned to talk to some Death Eater's grouped behind him. "Search the house and the perimeter."

A clump of the group went off to ransack our house and yard while the rest of the Death Eaters moved forward and grabbed random people to start questioning them. Most were dragged out of the confines of the bright marquee and I shuddered as I imagined what the Death Eaters would most likely use to interrogate all of us.

Bill and Fleur were pulled apart for interrogation but thankfully, Gabrielle was clutching Fleur so closely that Fleur and Gabrielle were able to get pulled away together. I heard shouts of my own name coming from mum and dad and I only realized why as two Death Eaters descended upon me. One was tall and thin while the other was shorter but they both grabbed me with the same kind of strength and pulled me out of the marquee.

I decided it was best not to fight them as they pulled me with them. I received a bit of surprise as they pulled me into the house, past some Death Eaters knocking things off the kitchen counters for no reason and up the rickety stairs. We climbed past my room but they seemed to mutually decide that the second floor was good enough and they practically threw me into Percy's old room.

"Watch it," I growled, catching myself on the end of the bed.

I heard the door shut and lock. I turned and glared at the two Death Eaters as one raised their wand and the room flared into brightness.

I crossed my arms over my chest, careful to keep my wand visible so they knew I was armed but not hostile enough to start casting spells every which way. "What do you want to know since you so graciously escorted me up here for privacy?"

I guess I had always suspected it when the Death Eaters first crashed the wedding but it was still a shock as the Death Eaters—without uttering a word—pulled back their masked hoods to reveal two very familiar faces. Draco and Astoria.

I gaped at them stupidly, blinking furiously. It wasn't often I was lost for words but now was one of those times. To say I wasn't ready to see them so soon after what happened last year would be an understatement. I still hadn't sorted out if I hated them or not and I still hadn't figured out if I was more angry with them or myself.

Finally, I swallowed hard and I was able to make my lips form two words. "Bloody hell!"

Draco stepped forward with his hand outstretched. "I'll want your wand Weasley."

"Don't call me that!" I snapped. "And I'd never do something so stupid as give you my wand."

Astoria quirked an eyebrow. "Same Ginny as always."

"Who do you two think you are?!" I yelled. "You can't just crash my oldest brother's wedding, drag me upstairs in my own house and demand that I give you my wand!"

"I can take it anytime I want," said Draco, smirking.

I tried to quell the memories that his presence in front of me were rising up. Instead, I let all my anger and frustration out to replace the swirling memories of how it felt to be kissed, held and touched by Draco.

"You listen here Draco Malfoy! You can just go screw yourself because we both know I can hold my own in a duel!" I yelled, holding my wand out so it pointed right at Draco. "I don't give a damn that you have orders to interrogate us for information about Harry. I don't know where he is and even if I did, I wouldn't tell you so you can just march back to your master and grovel at his evil little feet!"

Astoria hissed in a way that reminded me unpleasantly of Bellatrix Lestrange at the insult to her master while Draco growled and rushed me, pinning me to the wall with my arms held against the wall on either side of me.

"Never insult the Dark Lord in front of me," he hissed, clutching at my wrists painfully.

"You know, at one point I was okay with you two being Death Eaters. Now I wonder how someone managed to cast such a strong Confundus charm on me. I mean, I must have been crazy to ever be okay with the notion of having Death Eaters as friends!"

Draco squeezed my wrists harder and I gritted my teeth as I was forced to let my fingers open to relieve some of the pressure. My wand clattered to the ground and Draco kicked it behind him for Astoria to retrieve.

"You're right Weasley; I do have orders," snarled Draco. "Tell me what you know about where Potter might have gone."

"I know nothing," I growled. "Now let me go before I get so angry that my magical abilities flare up and I burn you and Greengrass to cinders."

I knew Draco didn't believe my threat about uncontrollable magic but he let me go nonetheless. I moved to stand beside the bed on the side closest to the door. I feigned confidence as Astoria twirled my wand between her fingers.

"Was Harry Potter here tonight?" asked Astoria.

"Yes," I said.

"I thought you knew nothing Weasley?" drawled Malfoy.

"You want to know what I know?" I snarled. "I know that two people I thought I trusted didn't think it was necessary to let me know that I was helping bring Death Eaters into the school to murder the greatest Headmaster that Hogwarts has ever seen!"

"We're here to talk about Potter, not how you think we wronged you," said Astoria, stepping in front of me.

I was too busy fuming to even hear Astoria. "I also know that now that the Ministry has fallen under the control of your oh-so-powerful master, the wizarding world will most likely be plunged into darkness and chaos! Not to mention, that Dumbledore is dead, Harry is missing and I know a little secret about you Malfoy that I'm sure you wouldn't want getting out!"

"And what knowledge could a Weasley have about me that might interest me?" asked Draco, his trademark smirk gracing his lips.

"Does Astoria know what happened in the Astronomy Tower?"

I watched with a small bit of glee as his smirk slowly slid off his face to be replaced with a hard glare directed at me. Astoria looked confused as she glanced between me and Draco.

I smirked. "Harry told me what happened at the top of the Astronomy Tower that night. Harry was up there and he saw everything. He told me how you had Dumbledore up there, all alone, and you did—"

"We're done here Astoria," said Draco, walking briskly forward and yanking open the bedroom door. "She knows nothing about the whereabouts of Potter."

"We let you off easy this time," said Astoria.

"My wand," I said, holding out my hand as Draco and Astoria pulled their masked hoods back on. Astoria tossed it to me with a dirty look and turned to follow Draco out of the bedroom.

"Oh, and Astoria," I called after her. She didn't turn to look at me but she paused on the landing to listen. "Congratulations on finally being initiated to the dark side. Your parents must be so pleased."

Once Draco and Astoria were gone, I slumped down on Percy's old bed to gather my bearings. Finally seeing Draco after bottling up all my feelings for him had sent my head and heart into overdrive. I didn't know what to think anymore as my heart kept reminding me how gentle and truly wonderful he could be while my head wouldn't let me forget the fact that he was a full-fledged Death Eater and had crafted the idea that led to Dumbledore's death.

Astoria also complicated matters. When we had gotten along, she had been a marvelous friend. When we talked or joked around, it was like we had known each other our whole lives instead of just a couple of months. But now…well now she was also a full-fledged Death Eater who had no problem with attacking a school full of children to achieve Voldemort's goal.

I sighed as I wearily got to my feet. I slid off my high heels and dashed down to my bedroom where I slipped on a pair of flats instead of the feet-killing heels. I twisted my wavy hair put into a messy bun and shrugged on a dark blue cardigan to keep away the sudden chill the Death Eaters brought with them.

I grasped my wand tightly and returned outside.

After the events of the wedding reception, us Weasley's were put on constant surveillance just in case we were somehow communicating with Harry. The Delacours and all their family and friends returned to France as soon as possible while Bill and Fleur moved to their new home together, Shell Cottage. I took some comfort in that Fred and George and Charlie all decided to stay at home longer after the Death Eater attack so I wasn't only at home with mum and dad.

All our post was being searched by the Death Eaters but I didn't really mind. The only interesting letters I received were from my friends, all asking how my family and I were after the Death Eaters crashed the wedding. Now and then dad or the twins had letters about work but nothing that the Death Eaters could confiscate.

The only major loss was that the Order was out another headquarters. The entire family was on a form of house-arrest and only dad and the twins were allowed out of the house for work. Mum and dad had no way of going to an Order meeting even if the Order had found a temporary headquarters.

Mum spent most of her time cleaning up the mess the Death Eaters had made when ransacking the house in their search for Harry while Charlie and I took a lot of walks outside. We weren't allowed to go play a one-on-one game of Quidditch in the meadow since that was past the boundaries we had to follow set down by the Death Eaters so we improvised by throwing an old Quaffle back and forth in the yard.

And then my Hogwarts letter arrived with the morning's Daily Prophet baring a disturbing front page story. I hadn't even opened my letter, I was so engrossed at staring at the greasy-haired git smirking on the front page under the headline, "New Headmaster for Hogwarts: Severus Snape Confirmed."

I knew as members of the Order, mum and dad would want to know that Dumbledore's murderer was now Headmaster. "Mum! Dad!"

They both ran down the stairs at lightning speed, mum hurriedly wrapping her dressing gown around her. Dad had his wand drawn as he quickly scanned the area.

"What is it, Ginny?" asked mum, looking around to make sure no Death Eaters were in her house.

"You'll want to see the front page news," I said, handing the paper to my dad's outstretched hands.

Mum read over dad's shoulder as they both scanned the article. I hadn't bothered to read the actual story but from the way dad's face paled and mum put a hand over her mouth, I knew that it wasn't good.

"What does it say?" I asked, absentmindedly tearing open my Hogwarts letter.

Dad finally folded the paper closed and threw it on the table. He ran his hands wearily over his face and sunk down in a kitchen chair. "It says exactly what the headline said. Snape is now Headmaster at Hogwarts."

"He's going to be worse than Umbridge," I groaned.

"It's worse than that," said mum, sliding into a chair beside dad.

I immediately abandoned my Hogwarts letter. "What do you mean?"

"Attendance at Hogwarts is now mandatory," said dad. "But if you're muggle-born or half-blood then you have to prove your blood heritage to return to Hogwarts."

"Prove your blood status?" I questioned. "Like prove that you have wizarding blood somewhere in your family?"

"Exactly like that," sighed mum. "We fear that Hogwarts is now under the control of You-Know-Who."

I now understood their pale appearances. Now that they knew that I was going back to a Hogwarts run by Snape and Voldemort, they wanted nothing more than to keep me home. But that option had been taken away from them. Attendance was now mandatory, especially for me since I was pure-blood.

Mum and dad lapsed into thought so I took that time to finally open my Hogwarts letter. I had the usual school supply list and the list of reminders signed off by Professor McGonagall but I also had a new paper announcing Snape as the new Headmaster and the new mandatory attendance policy. I also had a little slip of paper that said my pure-blood status had been confirmed by the Ministry and that I had the go-ahead to return to Hogwarts.

"Oh giddy," I groaned with fake enthusiasm. "My pure-blood status has been cleared by the Ministry."

Thankfully, mum hadn't heard me.

"Where's your list of supplies?" asked dad, looking at my torn open letter. "I'll ask Charlie to come to Diagon Alley with me today and we'll get your stuff."

"But the Death Eaters," I said, handing dad my supply list. "Don't they still have surveillance on us?"

"They'll make an exception," said dad. He attempted a weak smile. "After all, your pure-blood status has been cleared."

Within a matter of days, I had my new supplies packed up in my trunk and my parents had given me permission to take Ron's owl Pigwidgeon to school with me. Dad got permission for side-along apparition with me and we disapparated from the house to an empty alley in London. Dad hauled my trunk all the way into the station while I carried Pigwidgeon in his cage. At least he seemed happy to be returning to Hogwarts.

I could immediately sense the change in atmosphere as dad and I passed through the barrier so we could reach the train. The platform was usually filled with laughter, screaming kids and yells of forgotten reminders and goodbyes as steam from the scarlet engine swept over everyone's feet. Now, parents were subdued as they said goodbye to their kids whose blood status had been confirmed. Loud children were quickly hushed and there were no shouts for a child to remember to always do their homework.

Dad pressed a kiss to my forehead, said a quick goodbye and reminded me to stay out of trouble and try not to get on the bad side of the new Headmaster. Dad hoisted my luggage onto the train and then ushered me in after.

"Go find a compartment with your friends and sit. It's probably safer on a train carrying young minds You-Know-Who wishes to twist towards the Dark Arts than it is anywhere else right now so you'll be okay."

"See you at Christmas," I said. Dad smiled weakly and then shut the train door as I moved down the corridor with my trunk.

Thankfully, I ran into Luna in the corridor. I always seemed to run into her when I needed her and I wasn't more thankful for her than in that moment as Draco and Astoria came out of a compartment ahead of us.

I should have known that he and Astoria would be returning to school. After all, they were both pure-bloods and now Hogwarts was being controlled by their precious master.

Maybe it was because Luna was with me but all they did was glare at us as they passed. Draco glared especially hard at me but—maybe it was my own whimsical imaginings—I could almost swear I also saw sadness hidden in the depths of his molten grey eyes. I turned to watch him walk down the train corridor and I knew that my eyes were showing the loss of someone who had once been special to me.

"Ginny," said Luna, tapping me lightly on the shoulder. "Should we go find the others?"

I nodded vigorously. The sooner I was around other people, the sooner I could forget about Draco for a couple of hours. But even if I did get a few hours respite, I knew this school year was going to be rough if it consisted of constantly trying to forget Draco.

Review! Please, please remember to review! I always like to hear how you feel about the story so far!

So I decided to sneak in Draco a little early since I know I wasn't the only one who missed him. Now the students are going back to Hogwarts so there will definitely be more Draco to come, so don't worry :)