Chapter Five

A Lecture

"You did WHAT?' Neville cried, his eyes wide with shock as Ginny recounted the events of her and Luna's day.

"I simply told her that I wouldn't fill out the test." Ginny sniffed, waving her hand as if to signify that her defiance was no big deal, "And Snape heard the commotion, obviously, and came running, and pulled me and Luna out of class."

"What'd he do to you?" Neville gasped, his eyes automatically flicking over his friend as though checking for injuries.

"Nothing." Ginny said with a rather puzzled air, her eyebrows pulling together, "Just kind of sneered at us for a while, told us a load of crap about how if we didn't shape up and keep our heads down we would dig ourselves into, oh what was the phrase he used," Ginny paused, tapping her chin with her wand, "Oh yes, into a hole in which not the brightest light will shine, afflicted with pain so unbearable that you will have wished to have died a thousand times before you have been there five minutes," she giggled, "Cheery right? I just told them that as long as he didn't show his face there, I'd be perfectly cozy. I have double detention this weekend."

Neville groaned, "Ginny, there's not telling what they'll do to you while you're in there, these aren't normal teachers-they're death eaters! They could kill you and no one would do anything about it."

"I doubt they'll kill me, I'm pureblood, if not a very good one." She reasoned, "And besides, its what Harry would have done."

"Yeah, but I'll bet anything that its not something he'd want you to do." Neville said pointedly, raising an eyebrow, as if daring Ginny to protest.

"Well, he's not here." Ginny said defiantly, shaking her long mane of fire red hair, her brown eyes flashing dangerously, "And what he doesn't know won't hurt him. Besides, he's out there, fighting. The least we could do is lend him a little support here at Hogwarts instead of just rolling over for these monsters!"

"You're right Ginny." Neville sighed, leaning back into his armchair and staring into the Gryffindor common room's fire, "I know you're right, but saying something and actually doing something are tow different things. I don't know about you, but I don't want to die anytime soon. Not that that's not noble," he said holding up a hand to stop an angry Ginny from interrupting, "And I know if there ever was a cause to die for its this one, but Gin," he looked up, his deep brown eyes meeting her lighter amber ones, "I just think we're more use to Harry alive then dead. I just think we need to plan, to coordinate, and not just take shots in the dark."

"What you did today was very brave, I know it, and so does everyone else, but Ginny, it was stupid." He chuckled a bit at that, "You know it too. We can do that kind of stuff all we want, but if we want to really be effective," and his eyes lit up at that word, "We need to have a little bit of foresight. Just a tiny bit mind you-"

"So nothing Hermione grade then?" Ginny snorted.

Neville smiled, 'No, nothing like that, but we have to mess with their heads, we have to make them scared."

"And how are we going to do that?" Ginny asked.

"I don't know." Neville sighed, his eyes returning to the fire, "I haven't figured that bit out yet, all I know is that we've got to do something, things cannot stay the way they are…they just can't!"

'And to think," Ginny said darkly, her eyes too, drifting to the dying embers, "this is only the beginning."

For a while they sat in comfortable silence, each lost in their own thoughts as the shadows in the common room grew longer, until they were almost completely obscured by night.

"Neville?" Ginny asked, when she could only just make out her friend.

"Yeah Gin?" he answered, his disembodied voice floating out of the dark to her right.

"I was just thinking, even if we had a plan, which we don't, and even if others want to help us, which they won't, how are we going to…organize this? It just can't happen on the scale you're talking about.'

"Maybe it won't." Neville sighed, reaching up to rub his eyes, "Maybe it will just be us, but we have to do something that matters Ginny. We have to try and really do something about all of this madness."

"I agree Neville, but do you really think we have a chance to help?
"I dunno, maybe," Neville sighed again, straitening up, "But I know that now is not the time to discuss the details, we're tired, it's late, we'll talk about it tomorrow morning. Night' Gin."

"Goodnight Neville." She replied, her eyes following him as he moved to the stairs up to the boys dormitories.

When he was out of sight, she allowed herself a lonely sigh and relaxed back into her chair, her eyes catching the light of the fire, burning in the dark.

This is kind of a filler chapter, I know, but I thought it was necessary. Please review, it would be much appreciated.