(AN: Okay so clearly I am not updating as quickly as I used to. Sorry about that. It's the end of the semester for me and I should be writing papers, not fanfiction. Anyways tada! next chapter. Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading!)

"So are you done meeting with Malfoy?" Neville asked, falling into step beside Ginny as she marched toward Dark Arts the next day.

Nearly jumping at his sudden appearance, Ginny frowned at him. "What?"

Characteristically, Neville blushed and looked abashed and Ginny's features immediately smoothed out. "Are you angry with me?"

"No," Ginny was quick to deny it, shooting Neville a small smile. She had been friends with Neville for years now, and still, if she were quiet, he would immediately assume he had done something wrong and that she was two seconds away from banishing him from her life permanently. It made Ginny wonder how this could be the same kid who had stood up to Ron, Hermione, and Harry in their first year. Shaking her head to emphasize her denial, Ginny continued, "I just thought you were someone else."

Crazy, but Ginny had thought Neville was Malfoy, swooping in from Merlin-knew-where to startle her. Draco certainly had a knack for it, but he would never approach her in the hallway in front of so many people. That thought sent an odd little pang through Ginny's abdomen which just reinforced her belief that she truly was going mad. Draco Malfoy should cause no pangs in her chest, no fluttering in her stomach, no sweating on her palms, especially in light of yesterday.

That damned alcove, Ginny nearly cursed aloud. Being that close to Draco had certainly thrown her off; there was no point in denying it. Ginny had hardly been able to breathe, touching every part of him. She could still feel the memory as though she were still there. All because of that stupid dream, she was sure. Ginny would have never been so unhinged if she had not already been freaked out by her dream. The fact that Draco had also clearly been unnerved was of little importance. He probably thought she was throwing herself at him, knowing his ego. The next time she saw him…

"No," Ginny answered Neville's earlier question, having finally come back to it. "I think I'm done meeting with Malfoy."

That, of course, was the wrong thing to say to Neville who turned an alarming shade of white and spluttered, "What? Why? Has he gone back on his word? Is he going to report us?"

Ginny wanted to smack herself on the forehead. Merlin, she needed to get a grip on herself. She hadn't been this impulsive with her words since those first two years of knowing Harry. It was becoming ridiculous, the way she just blurted things out, not to mention embarrassing as well in certain situations. "No, Neville, calm down. I only meant that Draco hardly has any information to share. Other than some background on the Carrows, I haven't gotten a thing out of him. Seems like a waste of time."

All true, Ginny reasoned with herself as Neville nodded along. She had only gotten information about the Carrows from Draco, and that information had mostly been Draco's criticism with a few facts thrown in. She now knew that the Carrow siblings went nowhere without each other – Draco had made a rather perverse joke about incest that Ginny had tried valiantly not to laugh at – and that they were relatively new to the Death Eaters, which was why they were placed here but also why they were so zealous about it. They wanted to prove themselves.

"Sounds good to me, Gin," Neville shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "I never liked the idea anyways." He gave her an impish grin as she came to a stop outside of her classroom. Ginny returned the smile readily. This was why she appreciated Neville, versus someone like Ron or Harry; if Neville disapproved of what she was doing, he said so, but he never tried to stop her. Neville trusted her to take care of herself. It was something Ginny desperately wished Ron, and especially Harry, would learn.

"Anyways, we should probably hold a DA meeting soon," Neville continued, dropping his voice lower. "We haven't had one since this whole thing with Malfoy happened. The last instruction we gave was to cut down on resisting, since the detentions were becoming worse."

Ginny furrowed her brow, thinking back on it. That was right, she supposed, not able to recall saying anything else about well… anything. Since Draco had come crashing into her life, Ginny had hardly done anything with the DA, leaving it to Luna and Neville. Guilt lapped at her shoes, thinking about that lapse on her part now. "But the Carrows haven't said anything?" she asked. "They haven't done anything?"

Neville shook his head. "It's beginning to worry me. They have to have noticed that people have stopped fighting back. I mean at first, they could write it off as fear of Malfoy, y'know? But it's been too long. Even they have to be suspicious by now."

"It's too organized," Ginny thought out loud, realizing the problem immediately. "Everyone stopped too suddenly; it's clear that it was decided as a group."

"Exactly," Neville nodded again. "That's why their continued inaction is bothering me. If the Carrows thought we were forming up against them, wouldn't they do something?"

The truth settled heavily on Ginny. The Carrows definitely would react if they had realized that someone was giving orders against them. If they knew about the DA, if they had any inkling about it, they would react violently. The fact that they hadn't already unsettled her. She almost wanted to ask why Neville hadn't brought this up with her earlier, but she feared she already knew the answer. She had been distracted, terribly distracted.

Shaking everything away, Ginny faced Neville. "I don't like it. Call a meeting tonight, me, you, Luna, and someone from Hufflepuff. I don't care who, but they need a leader. If the Carrows think we are organizing against them, then we need to actually get organized. It's time Dumbledore's Army became a real force again."

The smile that lit up Neville's face made Ginny's blunt words worth it. Hope was shining from his eyes, so vibrant and real that Ginny knew they were right to do this. They were right to risk punishment if it meant giving that kind of hope to the other students. This war was not theirs to fight, but they could not let it defeat them all the same. It was time to fight back, for real.

Mock-saluting her, Neville grinned again. "Yes, ma'am." He scampered away in that way Neville had, and Ginny could feel her grin widening in response.

It felt good to take some action, and Ginny was feeling lighter as she walked into Dark Arts, but the feeling did not last.

Ginny had hardly made it three steps into the classroom before she halted, like all the students before her. Nobody was sitting down. Every single person was frozen at the back of the room, staring at the front of the room with expressions ranging from fear to hatred.

"This is bad," Ginny heard herself mutter under her breath, and she saw a few people look her way. They seemed to agree, but really, what other conclusion was there when faced with this?

Lined up at the front of the classroom, nine or ten first and second years stood trembling. They weren't shackled, which Ginny thanked Merlin for, but they were restrained there all the same. Carrow stood, grinning sharply, with his wand tapping against his thigh in delight. His bulging eyes were dancing with glee, skipping from face to face among those at the back of the room and when he got to Ginny's face, quickly hardening with rage, his lips parted into a smile so wide, Ginny expected his lips to crack and bleed.

"Well, now I believe we can start. Take your seats!" He barked out the last statement, and Ginny watched, dismayed, as a handful of students jumped and then hurried to obey. The rest were slower to obey, but obey they did, even Ginny. Carrow was bossing them around.

Fear, she could taste it in the air as she took her seat. It gleamed out of the wide eyes of the kids at the front, staring out at them and begging for help. Crabbe – or possibly Goyle, Ginny had never learned to tell them apart – was standing beside Carrow, grinning like the empty-headed bodyguard he was. Everybody else sat in silence, choked down and beaten there by the threat Carrow was showing them, a threat Ginny could not understand, not yet, but a threat all the same.

"My sister and I have decided that we have been too lax on you," Carrow began, trying for a conversational tone and failing miserably. His words carried the weight his voice did not though, instilling the fear he desired. "You have been getting away with too much, and those detentions seem not to have the effect we want. So, we came up with this." He motioned towards the closest student, a second year boy from Hufflepuff who slowly came forward. Ginny felt every single Hufflepuff in their seats swell with rage as the boy stopped on trembling legs.

Carrow grabbed him, hard, by the shoulders, and the boy whimpered. The Hufflepuffs tensed, most of the Gryffindors with them. "In Dark Arts, we will now be learning how to cast the Unforgivables, beginning with the Cruciatus," he announced, with relish.

Gasps rang out like the pops of spells and Ginny heard herself amongst them. No, her mind launched into denial. No they couldn't possibly…

"You lot will practice on the younger students who earn themselves detention. And if you are of a mind to refuse," Carrow was quick to continue at the protests already half-formed, "then you will earn yourselves detention and the seventh years will practice on you."

Silence met his announcement, and Ginny could not fault her fellow students for she was struck into silence too.

This was too cruel, too evil. The very thought besmirched the halls of Hogwarts permanently. Students torturing students went directly against the founding principle: that students from all backgrounds could get along and learn together. Now they would hurt each other. It was as though Salazar Slytherin was in the room, laughing at them for believing this could last.

It was evil, but it was smart. As Ginny stared at the first and seconds years with mounting rage, she could acknowledge the genius of this plan. It came down to the most basic of human traits: survival. How many students would choose to face harm themselves rather than harm someone else? The Cruciatus was a nice touch too, as it was very easy to persuade yourself you weren't really doing damage. That was a fool's belief though; the damage was there, just under the surface.

But Ginny could see people buying into that belief. Hell, she wanted to buy into it herself. If she was forced into this…. She couldn't even think it through.

Carrow was grinning, staring directly at her, and like his eyes snapped some thread holding Ginny, she felt herself change. Her anger went from a burning force to a blackness, seeping into every part of her body. She went still; she went cold; she went dark. Of course, she would be the first one called. Of course.

Carrow did not even have to say her name, Ginny was already standing. For one sweet second, she watched fear flash across his piggy face. She wanted badly to show him that he had every reason to fear her, but she was not suicidal. Attacking Carrow now would mean nothing but her death. But she was not yet powerless.

Drawing her wand from her pocket, Ginny looked to it and then back at Carrow. "No."

If it had been possible, the room would have grown quieter. As it was, Ginny could feel everyone holding their breath. Carrow looked surprised, which only lowered Ginny's already low estimation of him. What kind of man thought she would do this? What kind of person?

"Come again?"

Ginny narrowed her eyes. "I won't do it."

"I thought you would say that." Carrow's wand came up, surprisingly fast, but Ginny's matched his. She had not had much dueling practice, but she had enough. Her first curse was already perched on her tongue, but she would not strike first, not with this coward. Her wand stance was strong, confident, as she stared at Carrow. "I could make you do it," he continued, his eyes narrowed into little slits as he stared at her.

"I'd like to see you try," Ginny replied.

He said nothing, and Ginny could feel her body tensing, just waiting for that first curse to be thrown. He would try to compel her, but her shield could deflect one Imperius curse, she hoped. The older students were frozen to their seats, the younger students about to faint from their fear, and Crabbe or Goyle or whoever was gaping at her, as though he couldn't believe it.

Ginny almost missed it when Carrow lowered his wand, but she noticed when he spoke again.

"Very well, Miss Weasley," that nasty smile was back on his face. "You will be the first one the seventh years practice on then. Detention, and I highly suggest you show up."

Ginny, very slowly, lowered her wand, conscious of the fact that Crabbe or Goyle was nearly laughing with mirth. Clearly, he was hoping he would get to curse her. That was the least of Ginny's worries as she sat down though. The implied threat had been there, in Carrow's voice. If she did not show up for this new detention, she would be killed.

Her mind nearly went numb with shock at the prospect. Draco had said they would kill her, and while Ginny had always known it was a possibility, she had never found it very likely. They couldn't just murder her, not in public, not so out in the open. Hogwarts was still Hogwarts, after all. But this new form of detention was proving to her that she had been naïve. Whatever was happening in the outside world, they were not winning. If these detentions could happen, then murder was just the next step.

"You," Carrow barked, making many students jump. He was pointing a pudgy finger at a boy in the second row. "Up," he commanded, gesturing. "You'll curse this one instead."

The boy rose, planting his hands on his desktop to help himself up. He looked at the poor second year, still standing there and still trembling, and then he looked around at the white and angry faces of his fellow classmates. Ginny, herself, only stared back at him, willing him to make the right choice, the only choice.

He breathed out, but he didn't even reach for his wand. "No, sir." His voice came out wobbly, but he was sure.

Carrow's lips twisted unpleasantly and Ginny watched as his eyes darted angrily toward her. "Detention!" he bellowed, spittle flying from his lips.

The boy sat down, shooting the second year Hufflepuff a reassuring smile. His hands shook where he hid them under the desk, but Ginny could hardly blame him. He had said no. Hope stirred in Ginny's chest.

She listened as Carrow pointed at and called up five more students. They all stood and declined, some with strong voices and some with shaking hands. But their statements were all the same. They would not torture their fellow students. With every denial Ginny's hope grew until it was a bubble in her chest, pure happiness and respect for her fellow students.

But with every denial Carrow's anger grew as well. By the time he called the tenth person, he was an angry shade of red and sweating. His pudgy finger trembled with rage as he pointed to another Hufflepuff boy. Ginny recognized him but could not name him. He stood on remarkably still legs, but he would not meet anyone's eyes.

"Curse this boy!" Carrow demanded.

The denial did not come immediately, and the boy's hand went into his pocket.

Ginny's heart started racing and she felt other students looking at her. No, she tried to will the boy to drop his hand, to back down, to tell Carrow no. Please, Merlin, no.

But the boy's hand came out clutching his wand and Carrow gave a nasty little grin, hardly seeming to care that the wand shook so fast it nearly vibrated in the boy's grip.

The bubble of hope in Ginny's chest popped with the force of a bomb, and she did not hear as Carrow gave the boy instructions on how to cast the curse. She did not look at him as his wand took aim at the crying second year, who stood straight despite the tears streaming down his young face. He would not move, the second year boy. Ginny did not look away from him as the curse hit his chest, invisible but noticeable all the same.

Ginny did not look away as the Hufflepuff boy fell to the ground. She did not hear his screams as he convulsed, but she could see his mouth open wide in terrible pain. She heard nothing but buzzing silence as her hands clenched her desk and her teeth ground together. It was like the world had stopped moving the second her fellow classmate had not said no.

But then it started moving again.

The second year fell still suddenly, and Ginny saw the wand lower out of the corner of her eye. Sound came flooding back in, and she could hear the shuddering sobs the boy on the ground was heaving in and out of his abused lungs. The rest of the room was in shocked silence, no one quite believing what they had just witnessed. Even the boy who had cast the cursed looked like he had imagined it. And then, Ginny heard as Carrow gave three, slow claps.

"Very good," he nearly purred, and Ginny had to restrain herself from looking at him, sure he was looking at her with a gloating expression on his face. Her black anger was back, gnawing at her insides. Revenge came to mind, an image of Carrow sprawled on the ground like the second year had been, with his mouth wide open as he howled in pain, pain she would be causing him. Ginny could do it. She knew, suddenly, how to cast the curse, and she knew; she knew it would be so much more painful than what Carrow could cast. Her anger would destroy his mind. She could break him into pieces so small he would never recover and didn't he deserve it? He was a Death Eater, hardly even human.

The vision faded as Ginny hunched over her desk, the wood groaning under her iron grip as she forced herself to stay seated. She had no idea how she managed to do it, but she did not move. She did not look up again, not as Carrow continued calling names. She merely listened as five more people denied him and another six stood up and tortured seven of the nine younger students standing at the front of the classroom. Those who were tortured stayed down, trying to collect themselves as quietly as possible. Ginny knew none of the curses could be that strong, not from first time casters, but all the same, it was a pain unlike any other. She was just grateful none of them had passed out.

The twisted thing was that Ginny could not even hate those who gave in and cast the curse. How could she hate them for saving themselves? She didn't hate them, but she didn't trust them. She didn't respect them. And just like, the Carrows' plan worked. Ginny could feel it slithering into the minds of every single person in that classroom, as though it were a living thing.

This new form of detention would instill fear. It would instill hatred. It would instill distrust. It would destroy them from the inside out until nobody trusted anybody else and every person fought only for themselves. And then the Carrows would win.

The period ended.

Ginny was out of the classroom and flying through the halls before having had one thought about where she would go. She hardly noticed as she shoved people out of her way, hurtling towards some unnamed destination in her head. Only three main thoughts repeated through her mind, followed by censure and anger and guilt.

One: she had been selfish. She had been so caught up in her own life, so distracted by Draco and his revelation, that she had grown slack. It was her fault that the DA had not taken any action in so long. It was her fault that the Carrows had grown suspicious. She had been distracted, distracted by a damn boy. And now everyone was paying the price.

Two: she had detention tomorrow and at that detention she would be tortured. Tomorrow's seventh year Dark Arts class was the Ravenclaws and the Slytherins. Neither of those houses was known for self-sacrifice, and the Slytherins would jump at the chance to torture Gryffindors. She was going to be tortured, along with everyone else who had refused today.

Which led to thought three: she had to stop it. Ginny could not let one other student be tortured. All of the classes today had gone through it already, and there was no way to go back and change that – no way to know how many people had detention now and how many had already been tortured and how many had chosen to torture instead. But not one single more class would go through that hell again. She had to stop it. Now.

This third thought, the most important one, was why she was standing where she was now, chest heaving and her hair a wild mess around her, having arrived at the destination her mind had conjured.

Impatiently, she brushed the strands away from her face and glared at the blank wall in front of her. She had not consciously decided to come here, but it made sense now that her mind had caught up with her body. If anyone could help her come up with a way to stop this, he could. He could help her think.

Now, she only had to get in.

Ginny had known since her first year where the entrance to the Slytherin common room was. The location had been one of the random fragments of Tom left over in her mind. She had yet to tell anybody about them, but they were there, little pieces of him. They were just images, nothing dangerous, but they had yet to go away. Along with where the entrance to the Slytherin common room was, an image of a rather unattractive woman stayed, and random trinkets: a cup, a snake, some locket, a diary. They just floated around in her mind, there but not really present, until they cropped up in a dream.

Or until Ginny was distracted.

She was not distracted now as she stood glaring at the blank wall. Maybe her earlier distraction had led her here, but she needed in now. Her gut was telling her she needed to find a way inside, as soon as she could. She needed to speak with Draco, who, despite his Slytherin act, would never go along with this new plan. He wouldn't. He couldn't.

Footsteps sounded out behind Ginny, and she had barely had time to whirl around before they stopped suddenly. Her wand was in her hand before she had fully turned around, a curse on the tip of her tongue.

Blaise Zabini stood staring at her with his trademark blank expression, but Ginny could almost feel his shock. She probably looked like some wild beast, outside the entrance to his common room. Ginny didn't care.

"Weasley, what in the name of Merlin are you doing out here? How did you even know-" He started, walking quickly toward her with no regard for her wand.

"I need you to let me in," Ginny cut him off, shoving her wand back into the pocket of her robes. She wanted to keep it out, but that was inviting trouble if she were to go in. It was not against the rules, per say, for other house members to come into another common room, but she was hardly going to be welcomed into the Slytherin house. Having a wand out would not help matters.

"Absolutely not," Blaise stopped immediately and folded his arms over his chest, looking a cross between pissed and amused.

"Zabini, please," Ginny beseeched him, allowing the desperation she felt to leak into her voice. "I need to speak with Draco, now."

Blaise stared at her, with that same damn expression on his face. It was blank, too blank truthfully. A perfect mask, one that not only did not show you what he was thinking, but that almost made you believe he did not even think.

"This is about the new detention arrangement," he muttered finally.

"How do you know about that?" Ginny demanded immediately.

"News travels fast," he muttered darkly in response, still eyeing her. "I shouldn't let you in to see Draco. I don't approve of whatever is going on between you two. It's dangerous and stupid and risky."

Ginny said nothing. All of that was true, and on top of that, she didn't have time to try to explain herself yet again to him. It didn't matter besides. Zabini could think whatever he wanted; she still needed to see Draco.

Zabini sighed. "Fine, come on." He marched past her, and Ginny was so surprised he had agreed that she missed whatever he did to get in. When she did turn around to follow him, the wall was already melting away, allowing them both to enter.

Zabini held out one hand to stop her, poking his head around, looking in every direction before he motioned her forward. Ginny only realized he had been checking for other people when she walked in to see the room empty.

It hit her, then, what she was doing. She was standing in the Slytherin common room, arguably the most dangerous place for her to be right now. Before she could let that thought sink in, Zabini was moving, muttering to himself. Ginny hastened to follow, taking stock of her surroundings as she went.

The common room was pretty standard. Sleek furniture was organized around a fireplace and everything was clean, with sharp edges. Exactly what she would have imagined, if she had ever bothered to do such a thing. A weird green light covered everything, and it was cold, very cold. Zabini led her through the common room and down a hallway. They took two slight turns and then stopped in front of a closed door.

"Hope he's home," Zabini muttered sarcastically, eyeing Ginny warily as he knocked.

Again, the weight of what she was actually doing hit Ginny. She was in the Slytherin common room, here for Draco. Her mind was screaming that this was a mistake, suddenly, that he would not help her. Ginny was all but prepared to run when the door swung open.

A very rumpled Draco appeared in his doorway, tie gone and the top two buttons of his shirt undone with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows. His shirt even hung untucked from his pants, which were wrinkled. His hair was standing up a bit, like he had run his hands through it. The entire sight shocked Ginny into speechlessness.

"What?" he snapped, looking at Zabini, who stood in the center of the doorway with his arms folded. "What do you want Bl-" Draco choked on his friend's name as his eyes came to rest on Ginny, standing frozen like a fool just behind Zabini's shoulder. Eyes widening in complete shock, Draco just stared at her for a moment, while Zabini stared past him into his room. "What is going on?" Draco nearly whispered, still staring blankly at Ginny.

Zabini sighed. "She was standing outside the entrance, which by the way, thank you for telling her where that is. She asked me to let her in, and since she looked like she would just ask the next person to come by, I figured I should let her in, since at least I don't want to kill her."

Draco looked at Zabini with the same blank shock, but he said nothing to deny any of it. He merely opened his door wider, clearly inviting them both in. Ginny was about to follow Zabini in when the dark Slytherin surprised her by backing up and stepping aside, making the way for her.

"No thanks," he snipped. "I'd rather not play house with the two of you. I do, after all, quite like my head attached to my neck. Find me after Draco. We need to talk." The last was clearly a warning, and even Ginny could hear the anger simmering under Zabini's calm tone.

She quickly walked into Malfoy's room, refusing to look at Zabini again. Malfoy moved to let her pass, and she walked by him without a word, only stopping once she was in the center of his room. Her eyes jumped over the furniture, hardly seeing it and only noting that the room was set up for one person. Half of her mind was still focused on Draco and Blaise, who were harshly whispering at each other in the doorway.

She caught only a few words, all from Zabini. Stupid was a common one, and dangerous another one. Her arms folded protectively over her stomach, Zabini's warnings to her ringing through her head. She jumped when she heard the door close and whirled around only to find Draco leaning against the closed door and staring at her with the same shocked expression he had been wearing since seeing her outside his door.

"What are you doing here?" he asked slowly, as though adjusting to the idea of her in his room.

Ginny, herself, was just now adjusting to the very strange idea. "I…." she fumbled for the words, trying to recall why she had come, but she was suddenly reminded of the last time she had seen him. He had been across from her in that damn alcove, and he had looked almost as rumpled as he did now. His hair had certainly been in the same disarray.

Like a switch had been thrown, the surprise fled Draco's expression, quickly replaced by anger. "Merlin, Weasley! What were you even thinking? What if it hadn't been Blaise you had run into outside the entrance? In fact, how did you even know about the entrance? I damn sure did not tell you!"

"Tom showed me," Ginny muttered distractedly.

"Who the bloody hell is Tom?" Draco demanded, looking cross.

But Ginny's mind was finally caught up again, and the reason she was there overwhelmed her mind. "Oh, Draco!" she exclaimed, looking at him with wide eyes. "The detentions!"

"What?" he stepped back, again, clearly thrown by her change in expression.

"The detentions! Haven't you heard? The Carrows have set it up so now if you get detention, the older students practice the Unforgivable curses on you!"

Draco's mouth fell open. "What?"

"Yes!" Ginny continued, the words flying off of her tongue. "It's what we're learning in Dark Arts now, how to cast the Unforgivables."

"No," he shook his head. "No way. No one would approve that."

"Well somebody did!" Ginny began pacing, her earlier anger coming back slowly. "It's already happening! Today in Dark Arts, Carrow had second and first years there, and he ordered us to torture them. If we refused, we earned a detention! It was madness. It was sadistic!"

"Wait, wait," Draco held up one hand while rubbing his other through his hair again. His eyes were still wide with disbelief, but his mouth was quickly setting into a hard line of anger. "It started today?"

"Yes!" Ginny stopped pacing to stare at him, her own hands coming up to tangle in her hair. "And after I refused, most of them followed my example. But a few people, Draco, they agreed and-"

"You what?" Draco's hand fell limply from his hair and he took two steps forward again so that he and Ginny only stood a foot apart. His eyes were wild with emotion.

"I refused," Ginny repeated, confused. "Draco, of course I refused!"

"Why would you do that?" he demanded, voice becoming louder. "Why would you do that, Ginny?"

"Are you an idiot?" she shot back, yelling as well. "Why would I agree to torture second and first years? That's disgusting Draco! It's bloody evil!"

"So, what? It's better if you get tortured instead?" he demanded, furious. "How is that better Ginny? When do you have to serve this? During what class?"

"It doesn't matter!" she shot back. "I wouldn't have done it no matter what!"

All the color drained from Draco's face and his next words were moderated by complete certainty. "Its tomorrow, during my Dark Arts class, isn't it?"

For the first time, Ginny felt the stirrings of something almost like guilt, as though she felt bad for distressing Draco, because clearly he was distressed. But that was ridiculous. She had made the right decision. "It is," she admitted, placing her hands on her hips. "But that doesn't change the facts Draco! The Carrows are making students torture other students! You're missing the point!"

Draco placed his head in both of his hands, groaning. He turned his back on her and hunched his shoulders, so all that Ginny could see was the tense set of his back. "Merlin, how am I going to protect you now? Carrow will probably ask me to do it, torture you, and it's not like I can refuse in class." He continued muttering to himself, cursing the Carrows, stressing over her upcoming torture, all the while refusing to turn back around.

Ginny's head spun. Why was he focusing on that? Her impending torture hardly mattered. What mattered was everyone else, every other student who either had to torture someone or be tortured themselves. "Draco," she stepped forward and placed a timid hand on his shoulder, to get his attention.

Draco whirled around so fast, she thought he had knocked her hand away. It took her a moment to realize he had actually caught her hand in his grip, squeezing it tightly as he glared at her. "Did I not ask you to be more careful? Did I not beg you to stop endangering yourself? Merlin, Ginny I don't know how to make myself anymore clear! Why can't you just lay low?"

"Lay low?" she hissed, yanking her hand to no effect. His grip was iron. "Laying low is what caused this! I did what you asked! I told everyone to stop for the time being until we could figure something out, and it made the Carrows suspicious! This is my fault!"

Draco said nothing to her, nor did he release his grip on her hand. Instead he stared at her blankly and Ginny stared right back, incensed by his accusations. How dare he blame her for not laying low when that was exactly what she had done? She wanted to punch him. Hell, she almost wanted to curse him. Everything was his fault. She had laid low because he asked. She had done nothing because he distracted her.

"What about the other teachers?" he asked suddenly. Ginny raised an eyebrow in confusion. Draco sighed. "McGonagall, Flitwick, Sprout? Hell, even Binns. What are they doing about it?"

Ginny could not believe she had not thought of that. She couldn't believe she hadn't gone to McGonagall. True, her Head of house had been remarkably quiet and stoic throughout this year, but still, McGonagall would never allow this. "They don't know," she replied, searching Draco's face. "There's no way they know. They would never allow it."

Draco released her hand finally. "Well, there you go," he said calmly, his voice returned to perfectly normal. "Go tell them and let them deal with it."

Ginny was once again speechless. She stared at Draco wordlessly as he looked back at her with a blank expression not nearly as perfect as Zabini's. "You know that won't work," she accused, hands going to her hips again.

"Why not?" Draco shot back, folding his arms over his chest in a defensive manner. "You've said before that you guys are the good guys! Good guys wouldn't let this happen. You just said they'd stop it."

Ginny was shaking her head before he had even finished. "That won't work! Sure, if I tell them, they'll try to put a stop to it! But they can't do anything about it. Whatever threat they're under – and I'm sure its death – they can't do anything! All they've been able to do all year is not give out detentions! And that's hard enough with you lot monitoring them in classes now!"

Draco's eyes narrowed at her use of you lot. "Well then what the bloody hell are you asking me for? What am I supposed to do? Go ask the Carrows to change their minds. Ya that'll work. Excuse me dimwits, I'd like you to not torture people, even though that's what Death Eaters do. Ya thanks! Please, Weasley, you can't be that dense!"

She was about to yell back when the idea suddenly hit her. She flew forward and grabbed Draco's forearms, squeezing them as she searched his eyes. "Draco, that's it!" The alarm on his face did not mask the way his eyes held her gaze. "Ask Snape!"

"What?"

The complete shock in his voice should have warned Ginny, but she hardly heard it, she was so caught up in her new plan. "Snape loves you! You can ask him to stop the Carrows! Come up with some reason, I'm sure you can think of something. And Snape, he's reasonable at least. He, at least, has a brain. He'll know they can't do this! All you need to do is ask him!"

Smiling, Ginny looked up at Draco again, fully expecting him to be looking down at her in wonder. Instead, he was shaking his head firmly and detaching himself from her grip. "No. No way. I won't talk to Snape, not again."

Ginny dropped her hold, deflating. "What? Why?"

Draco continued to back away from her. "It doesn't matter Weasley. I won't talk to Snape, and he probably wouldn't listen to me regardless. End of story."

Hopelessness rose in front of Ginny like a wave, but it was tinged with a new and sudden anger, anger at Draco. "What the hell, Malfoy?" she demanded, stomping forward. "You can't even bother to talk to Snape? He would listen to you! You know he would. Can you really not be bothered?"

"It isn't about that!" Draco snapped. "I'm telling you, our relationship isn't what you think. He wouldn't listen to me."

"Bullshit!" Ginny exclaimed, stopping only when she was nearly in his face again. "That's bullshit! You just don't want to risk your stupid neck! How very Slytherin of you, only willing to protect yourself!"

Her words incited anger in him, and Draco stepped forward, getting completely into her face. "And you want everyone to run around trying to save everyone else! How very Gryffindor of you!"

Ginny scoffed in disgust, pulling away from him and moving to the side to get at the door, only a few centimeters away from them. Anger was clouding her mind again, and yes, disappointment. She had truly thought Draco would help, that his selfishness did not extend to such an extreme. She had been wrong, though. He was a Slytherin, through and through. "I should have kept my word to Neville and stopped talking to you! It's a waste of time, meeting up with you!"

His hand suddenly clamped around her wrist as she went to pass him, and he pulled so hard, it turned Ginny around so she slammed into him. She glared up at him, fully intending to yell at him, but he beat her to it. "What?" he demanded, searching her face. "You weren't going to meet with me anymore?"

"No!" she shoved at his chest angrily until he released her and she backed a few steps away, crossing her arms as she glared at him. "It's a bloody waste of time! You can't help this new situation. You won't do anything! You don't have anything to tell me! I'm done."

He looked surprised again, and a bit lost, as though it was truly the last thing he had expected her to say. "I've told you things," he muttered.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Yes, Malfoy, stupid things. Knowing more about the Carrows is only so useful! You can't tell me anything about Voldemort or Snape and now you won't help with the new problem. Why should I meet with you?"

His face flushed in slight anger again at her mention of Snape, and Ginny suddenly recalled that he always grew uncomfortable now at the mention of his favorite Professor. "Is that what this is really about?" he snapped suddenly, his lips twisting in a sneer. "Or is that about your stupid embarrassment over what happened yesterday?"

The air left Ginny's lungs as she was blindsided by the abrupt change in conversation. "What?"

The sneer deepened on his face. "You heard me, Weasley. Did you think I wouldn't notice your embarrassment, or the way you were pressed against me in that alcove? I'm not blind or stupid, thank you. It's ridiculous really. Can't even handle being two feet away from me without grabbing me, can you?"

Ginny tried to fight her anger. She tried to tell herself that he was just reacting like this because she had insulted him. She truly tried, but then Malfoy opened his mouth again.

"I mean I don't blame you. I've never met a girl who could resist me."

"You son of a bitch," Ginny hissed, her hands fisting at her side as a nasty mix of embarrassment and anger swirled in her gut. "I fell, you idiot! Like I wanted to be pressed against you!"

He quirked an eyebrow at her, his sneer turning into a smirk. "You fell, sure. I've heard that one before. I should have known what these meetings were really about. You save a girl once and she thinks you're in love with her. Not everybody is Potter, Weasley."

The solid crack of her hand against his face stopped all conversation cold. They both froze, Ginny's heaving chest the only thing moving in the dead silent room. Her palm stung as it remained in a raised position. Draco's face had turned with the force of the blow, and he did not move. She hadn't even felt herself move towards him.

She hadn't intended to slap him, really. Slapping people was girly and childish and she never did it. But he brought out the very worst in her, and he always managed to say just the thing to make her snap.

"What," Draco began, very slowly turning his head back to face her, "the bloody hell?" His eyes were on fire with rage, and Ginny nearly gulped. His cheek was blooming with blood blush in the shape of her hand, and Ginny realized how very hard she had hit him. She recalled the last time she had faced his anger and how terrifying that had been, how it had reminded her that Draco was supposedly the enemy.

She said nothing in response though. She would not apologize, not this time.

Draco raised two fingers to his face, barely touching them to the mark. He maintained eye contact with her as he did so, and Ginny nearly shuddered. "Apologize." His voice was dark and hard, unyielding and demanding. His body was ramrod straight, and Ginny realized he was a deal taller than her. He had filled out a bit more too, his shoulders were wider than she remembered. But really, it the dark and cold air coming off of him that made her shudder in fear as icy fingers traced down her spine. He looked like an avenging spirit, about to get revenge as he demanded her apology.

"I won't." Ginny held firm, proud when her voice did not tremble, though she was bending back a bit, trying to put distance between them again.

Draco glared at her, his eyes narrowing. "Can people not even say his name around you without you freaking out? I heard he dumped you, Weasley." Draco's voice took on a cruel twist as he glared at her. "Did Potter leave you?"

Her hand was up and moving before she had even thought about it, reacting to the anger she had buried for so long. Her second slap never made contact though; Draco grabbed her wrist and stopped her.

"Hell, no!" he snapped, yanking her arm down so hard Ginny fell into him again, her face pressing into the wrinkled material of his shirt.

She slapped at his chest with her free hand, cursing. "Let my wrist go, I swear to Merlin! Draco Malfoy, I hate you! Let me go!" She yanked against him, pulling her upper body as far away as she could.

"Not until you stop acting like you're bloody mad!" he yelled back, his hold not loosening. "Not until you apologize!"

Ginny looked up from his chest, glaring at him as she yanked and slapped and struggled. "No, I won't! You don't deserve it! You don't deserve-"

His lips descended onto hers so fast that Ginny was mid-word when he pressed against her. Her bottom lip caught between his two lips and he pressed her back against the door with the force of it. Ginny's mind fell completely blank at the feeling of Draco's lips on hers, surprisingly soft and tender and smooth. Her mind fell into white noise, buzzing with confusion. His lips didn't move, but she could taste him on her tongue, could feel his breath mixing with hers. The hard wood at her back was a sharp contrast with the softness of his mouth, the yielding of his body against hers. Every inch of their bodies was pressed together but it was so very different from the alcove that Ginny's brain gave up and went blank.

She didn't even have time to move to react before he was gone, removed completely from her as quickly as he had slammed completely into her.

Ginny slumped forward, head drooping to look at the floor in confusion. She blinked to clear her spinning vision, and swallowed to still the trembling in her stomach. Her mind was still buzzing. She was only standing because she leaned heavily against the door. Draco Malfoy had kissed. Draco Malfoy had kissed her. Draco Malfoy had kissed her.

When she looked back up, trying to orient herself, she saw that Draco was three steps away staring at her in mute horror.

"What the bloody hell?" she said each word slowly and precisely, staring at him with an identical expression of horror. Her mind kept wanting to return to the kiss, to every aspect of it, but she stopped her thoughts cold.

He didn't appear to have heard her. His hands were at his sides, his arms loose and boneless. He looked about three seconds from falling over. In fact, Ginny was about to suggest he sit down when he suddenly spoke. "Snape was right."

"What?" Ginny's head spun with yet more confusion. "Snape?"

"Redheaded Gryffindors," Draco muttered, half-laughing as he stared at her. "Bloody redheaded Gryffindors."

Now Ginny was truly fearing for his sanity. He wasn't making any sense. Snape had said something to him about her? But why? What did Snape know? He never even came out of his stupid office! "You've talked to Snape?" she demanded, seizing on the one piece of solid information he had said. Anything to distract her from what had just happened. She couldn't think about it. She couldn't do this right now.

Draco nodded, looking distracted. "Ya, he called me into his office a few weeks ago, maybe. Merlin, he was right. I'm an idiot. And you…" he trailed off, looking at Ginny again with a lost look that unnerved her greatly. "Oh, Merlin."

Ginny chose to ignore him, focusing again on other information. "Wait, you've been inside the Headmaster's office?" Her mind was suddenly spinning back to months ago, when the Minister of Magic had shown up at her house. She hadn't meant to listen, truly, but she had come inside…

"Yes," Draco snapped. "What does that matter?"

"Draco, did you see a sword?" she demanded, eyes wide with possibilities. "It would have been an old sword with a jeweled hilt? Red rubies? Probably in a case."

"I-what?" Draco was clearly lost, clearly on another thought track altogether, but Ginny had no time for whatever he was dealing with. Whatever had just happened between them.

"A sword!" she snapped. "An old sword!" Merlin, the sword, she had been so confused by the mention of the sword in the will. It still seemed ridiculous, but if it was here...

"I saw one," Draco said slowly. "Snape had it behind his desk-"

That was all Ginny needed. Without another thought for Draco or the kiss or the detention or anything, she lunged for the door and yanked it open. She had already taken a step outside when she realized someone else was standing against the wall. Her hand was halfway to her wand when she realized it was Zabini.

"How long have you been there?" she asked, mind automatically going back to what she and Draco had been saying. The kiss…

"Long enough," Zabini muttered, glaring hard behind her at the door. Ginny turned to see Draco standing there, his lips pressed into a hard line as he glared back at Zabini. Neither broke eye contact for a few moments, until finally Draco looked away in disgust. He turned his hard glare on Ginny, who merely looked blankly back. He nearly growled and then turned and slammed the door so hard the wood shook. Ginny stared at it, feeling fear began to build in her gut as the kiss came back to her. She tried to push it away, tried to focus on the sword, but the longer she stared at that door the harder it became. It was too fresh, she could still feel every single thing.

"Come on," Zabini commanded, turning on his heel. Ginny snapped her attention to him and then followed quickly as he began to walk away. "We need to get you out of here," he muttered, "before you do any more damage."

When Ginny marched into the Gryffindor common room twenty minutes later she was surprised to see not only Neville but Luna and Ernie McMillan as well. It took her mind only a second to remember that she had asked Neville to convene a meeting.

"Ginny," Neville nearly sighed in relief. "Thank Merlin. Supper's almost over, and I was worried you weren't going to show up. It's hard enough sneaking up here. I-Ginny?"

She nearly ran over to them, buzzing with information and a new plan. "I have something for us to do," she proclaimed as soon as she was close enough.

"Is this about the detention?" Ernie asked, his brow furrowed in anger. "I tell ya, it sets my teeth on edge, this new arrangement. We need to do something and fast."

"Nothing to do," Luna cut in, her sweet voice downcast. "We can only encourage people to continue to refuse, right Ginny?"

Reluctantly Ginny nodded, the thought sitting sour in her stomach, only diffused by the plan burning in her brain. "Luna's right, but that's not what I want us to talk about."

"It's not?" Neville looked shocked. "But Ginny what else could be as important?"

"Something that Harry, Ron, and Hermione need," she said. "To help them stop Voldemort."

All three gasped, though that could have just been a reaction to her using his name.

"What do they need?" Luna asked, ever the practical one.

"It's something Dumbledore left Harry that the Ministry wouldn't let him have, but it's here at Hogwarts. Harry needs it for his mission, the one Dumbledore left for him to finish."

"What?" Neville demanded, all seriousness.

Ginny took a deep breath and released it. "It's the sword of Gryffindor." Again all three gasped and Ginny braced herself to tell them the worst part. "And it's in Snape's office."