The Carrows' Calling

Disclaimer: God, they really have to rub it in my face, don't they? I am not J.K. Rowling, I am not super rich and I'm pretty sure J.K. Rowling doesn't sit around writing fanfiction about her own books.

Chapter Nineteen

Ginny placed the letter on her desk, once back in her dormitory, and smoothed it out with a deep breath. She inhaled the fresh scent of clean and new parchment, the scent of receiving a letter from home. Or, something like it.

Ginny and Tonks had always had some kind of connection; they had met at one of Molly's many, many dinners in Grimmauld Place. Tonks had chose to sit beside Ginny during the dinner and they had made conversation easily; for Ginny was fascinated by the fact that Tonks could change her appearance by will.

She had changed her face into a pig, but only with rabbit ears, by Ginny's demand. Their relationship had only strengthened by the near-hysterical laughter it brought to Ginny. They had spent every free hour they had together; even when Tonks was busy with Order duty and the jobs of an Auror, she had always squeezed in some time for Ginny. One of the days stuck out to Ginny. They were huddled in Ginny's small and cramped (though still more homey than ever) bedroom, playing with the muggle object that was called such 'make-up'.

Tonks had found the small powder packet in her mother and father's room, wondering what it was. She had brought it to show to Ginny, with the result of both of them looking like complete fools, with power-white faces, ridiculous frosted eyelids, and exaggerated pouts, breaking off with laughter so loud Molly had ran upstairs, only to crack up at the sight of the two.

And to think it was supposed to make you look better. Ginny smiled at the memory.

She grabbed her quill and a strip of parchment. She found an envelope, and wrote on it, Tonks. Ginny dug around in her trunk for the fancy emerald-green ink that she used for special cases—this one definitely counted as special.

Ginny carefully dipped her quill into the ink jar, making sure not to spill it. The green ink shone off the piece of parchment like stars in the night sky. She wrote in her neatest handwriting:

Hi Tonks!

I hope you believe it's really the actual Ginevra Molly Weasley. Here's some proof: we played with this muggle product you called 'make-up' that you found in your parent's room, which is when you did my favourite transformation for me again; the pig nose with rabbit ears.

I hope that's enough proof, because I can't think of any more!

I have gotten your letter just fine (as you can tell) and obviously, yes! It would be an honour to be godmother. Do you have a name yet? What's the gender? Please owl me back A.S.A.P! Waiting to hear more,

Ginny

She signed off the letter and looked the window the for the owl Tonks was talking about. And, true to her word, it was perched on the ledge of the window, staring into the dormitory. When it caught Ginny's stare, it hooted impatiently. Hmm. So that's why it didn't fly outside.

Ginny let the letter sit on the desk for the moment or two, waiting for the ink to dry. Once it was, she folded it into careful thirds and placed it into the envelope. She didn't have a seal at the moment, so she opted to close the envelope with water instead.

Ginny walked over the window and opened it, shivering at the cold gush of wind wafting in. She beckoned the owl, at which it flew in, flapping its large wings, causing the snow on them spraying everywhere. Ginny shielded her face with her hands for a brief moment, and after, used the ribbon of which Tonks had used (that was still left of the leg of the owl) to tie her response. She tied it tight, but made sure it was not too tight to be uncomfortable.

The tawny owl nipped Ginny's finger happily, and she stroked its head before it flew off into the snow covered grounds of Hogwarts.

Luna woke up to a groan from in front of her. Her eyes blinked open blearily, adjusting to the small-but-strong ray of sunlight streaming into the cramped room.

Dean lay on the floor, taking up most of the space in the cell. Luna didn't mind, really, he needed the rest. Ollivander still seemed to be asleep, even after he made a noise; he was curled up into a ball in the corner where Luna had placed the nail, snoring softly.

Luna stretched out her arms, yawning and rubbing her eyes. She crawled over to Dean, getting her first good look at him. His eyes were closed in a fitful sleep, for he seemed to be mumbling to himself, and every now and then, his eyelids would flutter briefly. He was wearing what once must've been a bright red long-sleeved shirt and ripped blue jeans, though they just looked like rags now. The cut on this forehead seemed to be healing pretty well, it was already starting to scab. The chains that were once around his wrists were flung into a corner, and Luna remembered finding the loose nail and picking the lock.

As Dean shivered, eyelids twitching, Luna decided to free him from his nightmares, or what seemed to be nightmares. She placed a hand on his arm, shaking him gently to wake him up.

Dean gasped, his eyes flying open, looking extremely disoriented. He stared at Luna, eyes wide with confusion. They were a dark brown, very unlike Ginny's, whose eyes were a much lighter brown, speckled with gold flecks. Dean's eyes were just a pure dark brown, almost black (though nothing like Snape's) and seemed to continue on endlessly. They reminded her of her mother, whose eyes were bright blue, but were just about as endless as Dean's.

"Luna?" Dean's voice came out raspy and rough, and ended with a cough.

She nodded. "That's me," she chirped, looking straight down at him, again into his eyes. "And when was the first D.A. meeting?" Luna suddenly snapped, something coming to her mind.

Dean looked confused, but still answered the question asked. "When I was in my fifth year, sometime around in the winter. Harry held it in the Room of Requirement. It was awesome," Dean said, propping himself up on his elbows. Luna nodded, glad he was correct.

"I hope you believe I am Luna Lovegood. I don't really remember you from anything, I'm sorry," Luna said bluntly. She gave an apologetic smile. Luna then remembered something and crawled over to a part of the room to grab it. She snatched the bag of food that she and Ollivander had recently received and pulled out some bread. She handed the boy on and some water. He made signs of protesting, but without words, Luna forced the food into his hands.

"Eat. You'll need it,"

"I really hope you are, I don't want any more disturbances," Dean replied unfazed, staring down at his food. Luna looked at him curiously, not really sure what he was talking about.

"Why are you here anyways?" Luna blurted out, curiosity overtaking her politeness.

Dean looked away, at the blank wall, with thin lips.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want," Luna offered timidly.

"No, no. It's fine. I'm muggleborn, you see? I was traveling with Ted Tonks, know him?" Luna nodded. "Well, I was on the run with him and two other goblins. One was killed and the other captured. I'm not sure what cell they put him in," Dean said quickly, gaze turning to a glare.

"What happened to Mr. Tonks?" Luna asked, afraid to know the answer. Dean's eyes turned even darker at the question.

"They killed him."

Luna simply stared at him.

Seeing Dean's angry eyes, she offered him a small, reassuring smile.

"He was very noble when he died. He wanted you to get away, didn't he?"

Dean nodded, his head still facing the other direction.

"Well then, he died to a good cause."

"Some use that did," Dean said, his tone bitter.

Luna pursed her lips, and sighed. "We will get out somehow. I promise you that."

Ginny ran down to the Room of Requirement to meet Neville. She walked past the seemingly blank wall twice, and was just about to leave, thinking Neville had forgotten (even though is was he who had called for a meeting) until a pair of double doors appeared. Ginny, feeling relieved, ran in.

A warm rush of air blasted into her face. The room was rather warm and quite cozy, though it seemed smaller than the last time she was in it. In the left corner, there a fire blazing and the walls were adorned with the four house banners. In the middle of the room, seated at the table with his hands folded in front of him, was Neville Longbottom.

"Hey Longbottom." Ginny greeted. Neville quirked an eyebrow.

"Weasley." Ginny crossed her arms and stared Neville dead in the eye. She walked over the table and sat down across from Neville, her eyes never leaving his. She didn't overlook how Neville did not blush, or seem flustered in the lightest. In face, he seemed to be unfocused on the present entirely.

"So, what's the plan?" Ginny asked curiously, breaking the tension.

"Oh, I was kinda thinking we could welcome everyone back to D.A. We could start back up things, maybe not just using spray paint, but also get into the Carrows' offices and mess stuff up there," Neville explained. Ginny nodded.

"Sure, why not? We just have to be more careful. We could continue on with the vandalising, if you want to, that is," she said.

"OK." The pair lapsed into an awkward silence, neither one sure about what to say. Ginny looked down at her lap and twiddled her fingers awkwardly.

Surprisingly, Neville was the one to break the quiet atmosphere first.

"Ginny, do you think more people will get hurt?" Neville asked timidly. Ginny was caught by surprise. She had always known that people would get hurt in the coming months, but how many more… She really didn't know. She didn't really want to know either.

"I'm not sure. I… I hope not," Ginny replied, hesitantly.

The pair fell into silence again. Ginny absentmindedly tapped her fingers on the table in front of her. It seemed as if, without Luna, they had fallen apart.

This wasn't just her being conceited, but Ginny always thought she was the "glue" of sorts, the leader keeping them together. Although these days, I've had more than my fair share of trouble, she thought guiltily.

With an aura of finality, Neville suddenly rose from his seat and walked until he was standing beside the fireplace. Ginny looked at him curiously.

"Neville?"

He seemed to be deep in thought and didn't reply. Ginny tried again, a bit more urgent.

"Neville?" Neville kneeled down and began to poke at the fire with his wand, making the flames rise higher and higher. He looked at Ginny, face glowing red from the heat.

"Do you think this is really going to be worth it in the end?" He asked quietly and with a hint of bitterness, still poking his wand at the fire. The amber flames became bright red.

Ginny got up from her seat to join Neville. She could feel the heat of the fire radiate from the fire as she got closer.

"If this," Ginny gestured around the room, "if this is possible, I think anything can happen."

Neville looked up at her, a tint of a glare in his eyes.

"Do you really think so?" He spoke quietly, and sounded utterly worn out and tired. "What's going to happen next? Luna's already gone… " His voice trailed off with a distant look, and he seemed to be lost in thought again.

"But we can keep on going. If we give up now, the Carrows win. You-Know-Who wins. People of whom we love are out there, fighting for their lives, or in cellars because they were fighting for what they believed in. People are dying, muggle and magic, because of him. If we give up now, their deaths mean nothing.

"I am aware that people are going to die in this upcoming war, but we can lower that number of deaths. It's all we can do right now," Ginny said, kneeling down as well and placed a hand on Neville's shoulders. He nodded, but then looked at Ginny again, this time dead-straight in the eye. "Do you really believe that people are going to die?"

"This is war, Neville. It is not called war if people don't die," Ginny said bitterly.

Neville set his jaw, looking determined. "Then we will help end it."

Ginny gave Neville a small smile. He smiled back.

"This war is going to end. People won't have to live in fear again, and families will be united once more. That is what Dumbledore's Army is going to do. We will live up to that name, and we are going to kick Voldemort's arse!"

The door slammed open, so hard Luna could see thin cracks appearing, running up the hinges, the light streaming in from the entrance illuminating the room for once. Dean looked at her in fear, his eyes wide and his mouth open. Ollivander was still in the cell too, but he was a blessed deep-sleeper, and fast asleep, completely unaware of what had just happened.

Luna was just about to fall asleep then too, right after a nice, satisfying dinner the cell guards have ever given her. Just thinking about the meal made her mouth water.

Three men dressed in elaborate black robes stood in the door, blocking most of the light coming in. Luna was used to seeing Death Eaters, but the first man was different from the others, and absolutely not in a good way.

He wore no mask, unlike the rest of his Death Eater friends. He had a very pale, near complete white face and his long white hair draped over his shoulders, smooth and silky—absurdly reminding Luna of corn silk. His dark grey eyes seemed dull and lifeless, and in his left hand he held a tall, thin cane.

The handle of the cane was as elaborate as his robes; a silver metal snake slithered up the top of the cane, coming to a stop at a coil at the very top. It had bright green eyes that, with a chill, Luna realised they seemed to follow her. Though he seemed to be the leader, he was not the first to speak.

"Dean Thomas. Mudblood caught by Snatchers. Posed for trial today," the man in the very back said.

Perhaps Lucius Malfoy is too noble and too rich to speak about muggleborns, thought Luna, recognising the man. Dean was still looking at Luna, his expression questioning and frightened.

Luna wasn't sure. If the Death Eaters wanted something, they would get it. Perhaps it would just be easier for Dean to agree to go with them. Or, he could do things the hard way, and put up a huge fight resisting the Death Eaters, and make things bad for everyone.

But either way, the Death Eaters would get what they wanted.

"Dean Thomas. Follow us and you won't be hurt. Neither will your two friends here," the Death Eater in the middle sneered. Dean was still looking at Luna, who didn't make any movement as to signal anything.

"If you don't come with us, we will have to resort to, let's say, more drastic measures." The middle Death Eater tilted his head in pity, though Luna could bet, if she could see under the mask, the Death Eater would be smiling. She wanted to hit the vile man in the face.

Dean slowly got up and began to walk the short distance to the Death Eaters. Luna was sure that he was walk with them and enter his so called 'trial'. She felt relief, no matter how sick it was. As he slowly walked to the Death Eaters, Luna saw his hand curl up into a fist. Luna's eyes widened.

BAM.

Dean's fist made contact with Lucius Malfoy's jaw line, causing a sickening crunch. The man awkwardly stumbled backwards, backing into the other two Death Eaters, gingerly rubbing the place where Dean's fist made touch with his face. The Death Eaters behind him were too much in shock to draw out their wands. Or they're too stupid to. Dean took advantage of this moment, for he beckoned Luna to follow, and ran out the wide open door.

The next few moments passed in a wild blur. Luna could remember running up a pair of stairs, barely catching herself from tripping over a step, and making it to a large room, panting with adrenaline. Which room, she wasn't sure. She remembered dodging spells Death Eaters were casting at her left and right, she remembered a jet of dark green shoot past her ear. Luna ignored it, and kept on running, running until she found some kind of exit. It was like some primal instinct had took over, and all she could think of was escape.

She followed Dean, who seemed to know where he was going. How long has he been planning this?

He led her down multiple hallways and stairs, twisting and turning without a second thought. Luna was just about to follow Dean as he skidded and turned a corner, until she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her, stopping her wild run. The arms coiled around her waist, and shoved her roughly, knocking her to the ground, emitting a pained cry. A hard metal was wrapped around her wrists and ankles. She could feel herself being dragged across the hard stone ground. The texture of the jagged stones rubbed against her cheek, gnawing at it until it became raw. That was the last thing she felt before she passed out.

Luna woke up to a burning, almost unbearable pain in her wrists and ankles. She forced open her eyes, cringing at the sting it brought to her cheek, and realised that she was in an enclosed room. She lay on her stomach, her arms and ankles tied together by a thick metal chain. Luna could feel the rings of the chains dig into her wrists painfully. So this was how Dean felt.

Knowing that she couldn't rid herself of the chains on her own, she lifted her head and looked around, taking in her surroundings.

Luna seemed to be in a small, dark room with two tiny windows high upon the right wall. She could tell it was different from the one that she was in before; there was a bed in the corner wall, and the room seemed to be deserted. Well, the 'bed' wasn't really a bed, it was more like a lump of hay dumped in the corner of a room. But it was better than what they had before.

Luna tried to shift her body closer to the stack of hay, trying to make herself feel more comfortable. But as hard as she tried, her body wouldn't budge, rather, it was like the harder Luna struggled, the tighter the bonds became. She could feel the chains clank against each other loudly and as she tried to move again, she realised the chains on her ankles were attached to the ground. Luna sighed, glaring at the ceiling, and resorted to lying on the floor and taking in the rest of the room.

She tried to crane her head so she could see what was behind her, and succeeded. There was a large metal door with a fancy 'M' engraved upon it. 'M' for Malfoy Manor. It was as if the door was mocking her. She got an idea, but it quickly diminished—she could barely see the door, much less open it.There has to be some way to get rid of these stupid chains. But there didn't seem to be.

Then, from the darkest corner of the room, came a small cough. Luna's head shot in the direction of the cough, her senses all completely turned on, and interrogated herself for not noticing sooner.

The cough had come from a small creature sitting on the floor. He didn't seem to be human—he was much too short. But, then again, there's Professor Flitwick. He had large ears with the ends sharp and pointy. His hands were abnormally large; they seemed way out of portion for such a small frame. His clothing was tattered and torn.

His shirt seemed to be a dress shirt, but from the tarnishes, Luna couldn't tell. He wore what must've been elaborate dress pants, but they were destroyed by some kind of force Luna didn't know of (and didn't want to, either).

It was a goblin. Luna recognised the creature from the her textbooks in class.

He was the first to speak. "You're the Lovegood girl, aren't you?"

Luna looked at him with wide eyes; it had been a while since she had seen a goblin, and she was still processing the past events.

"Yes, I am. And who are you?" she asked, out of pure curiously. The goblin seemed to hesitate a bit, before deciding Luna was trustworthy, and replying.

"I am Griphook. I work at Gringotts," the goblin said, the pride evident in his voice. Luna nodded.

"But, how did you get here?"

Griphook clewed on his lip, while playing with his fingers. Luna could see long nails at the ends, but it didn't disgust her in any way.

"I was captured while running away with muggle-borns." he eventually said.

Luna nodded again, then thought of something.

"Was one of them named Dean Thomas?" Luna remembered Dean mention two goblins of whom he had traveled with. The goblin responded slowly.

"Yes. And the other man, Ted Tonks." Luna remembered the news Dean had carried. A heaviness fell through the room.

The conversation seemed to have dwindled, neither person sure about what to say to fill the awkward, growing silence. Luna looked around the room, and Griphook played with his long fingers. As Luna watched him, she realised that his nails were so long that they could pick a lock.

"Mr. Griphook?" she piped up eagerly. The goblin's head snapped up at his name.

"Yes?"

"Could you, perhaps, help me out of this situation?" Luna gestured to his nails.

The goblin thought about it for a moment, and then shrugged. He stood up, and began to walk over to Luna. It was then that she realised that Griphook also had a chain tied to his leg, very much like the one bounding her. But even so, he was able to pace the short perimeter around the room. Because they didn't think he could do anything to help, Luna thought, fuming. Who would do this?

It was at this time that Luna truly realised how short the man was. As he walked over, Luna watched as he made a detour to the wall. He placed his long fingers over the bricks, feeling into the crevices. So he wasn't going to use his nails, after all—rather, Griphook was going to use an actual nail. Whatever.

Luna felt disappointed her saved nail from days ago hadn't come in handy, but she shrugged it off, and watched Griphook. Once he seemed to have found a nail, he headed for Luna.

"Could you tilt this way?" Luna obeyed, turning as much as she could over to the side Griphook was. Griphook worked in silence as he started to pick the lock, bit by bit.

Author's Note:

A somewhat eventful chapter today, Luna will be back at Hogwarts soon! I hope you liked Griphook joining in, and the wild escape. Please review, let me know if you liked it! Also, many thanks to ElsaElphieGinny and Mawenn35 for reviewing! To all who have reviewed in the past: nvweofjwef, lizzzsunshine, GinnyPotter6891, Severus Regulus Dumbledore, GryffindorG1rl, and all the Anon readers, thank you so much, it warms my cold heart that people are reading my work. Thank you!

-Zigostia