Twenty-nine: Army without a name

With a jump from, the chair she landed amidst the shards and lifted the sword. It felt lighter than she'd expected. Hard to imagine this had killed a Basilisk. Then again, it had been Harry wielding it. Impossible, undefeatable Harry who had beaten all the odds. Until he hadn't. She crushed the thought and cut the air with the sword, even as Phineas Nigellus continued to mutter about reprobates in the background.

"We're keeping this," she declared.

"Isn't Snape supposed to use that on Nagini?" Astoria asked.

"He'll find something else to kill her with. A specialist in the dark arts-" she began, then paused. "Oh, Merlin. Dumbledore must have thought she was a Horcrux," Ginny said as the even greater importance of the memory struck her.

"The massive, venomous snake You-Know-Who keeps close," Astoria deadpanned.

"Yeah," Ginny said, not thinking of the snake but of her dad. A night around a kitchen table, waiting for news. Fearing he would not survive the night. Followed by weeks in a hospital bed. Melting stitches, gaping wounds, scars she'd glimpsed since then. And the thing responsible for that, they had to kill.

"At least it's not a Basilisk," she murmured, gripping the sword a bit tighter.

"Is it too late to bail and suggest Zacharias Smith takes my place?" Astoria asked.

"Locket, cup, snake and something we don't know yet," Ginny said, putting the sword on Dumbledore's desk.

"What will we be doing about the locket anyway?" Astoria asked, moving over towards the desk.

"I owled Bill last night and told him we needed Sirius Black."

"And will that work? He didn't look very approachable last time. Or sane," she added.

"I don't know, Tori, but what else can we do? I just feel so stupid. We had a Horcrux in our hands and tossed it out with the trash."

"You could hardly know something like that would be hidden inside a house," Astoria reassured her.

"You only say that because you've never been to Grimmauld Place," Ginny said.

"Will we be telling the D.A. about this?"

"Horcruxes? No," Ginny said decisively. "I'm sure they all have the heart in the right place, but as Marietta Edgecombe taught us last year, that's not always enough," she mused, massaging her temples. "We'll have to tell them something though."

HEAD AUROR MURDERED IN HIS HOME

MINISTER - 'WE WILL NEVER SURRENDER'

Most of the D.A. was still there. So why did the absentees stand out so much? Hannah hadn't returned for this year, and now Dean, Anthony and Terry were gone as well, together with most of their recent recruits, all having left Hogwarts and possibly even Britain for safer grounds.

It didn't stop there. Even those that had stayed looked hesitant, shifting from one foot onto the other as if they would have much rather been somewhere else. No one had refused the invitation outright, but many were having second thoughts. The writing was on the wall. Not in messages in red paint decrying the return of the Heir, but in the doubt in Corner's eyes, Smith's position so close to the door and the absence of most of her lieutenants. Parvati and Lavender had hidden among the crowd, with only Padma still at her side.

Ginny could not fault them for it. They were an army without its eponymous leader, children in a war for adults rather than a plucky rebellion against authority. Hogwarts didn't feel safe anymore and it translated to empty gaps.

But they couldn't stop here. Harry may have been reluctant to lead wide-eyed children, but Ginny knew the alternative and it scared her far more. When the Ministry fell, she would make sure they at least knew how to defend themselves. So she sought out the eyes that were still free of doubt in the audience. Astoria, for once not in a corner but on the front row. Colin, fighting for his right to exist. Seamus, somewhat lost without Dean but still as determined.

"Hello everyone, welcome to the first meeting of this semester," she began. "In light of recent events, I think it's time we focused on expanding our repertoire of spells-" she began, Padma nodding along with her, but she was one of the few.

"Are we still continuing?" someone interrupted her and of course it was Zacharias Smith again.

"Why wouldn't we?" she threw back.

"Well," Zacharias said, clearing his throat. He looked ashamed, impossible as it seemed. "Is there still a point in fighting? Dumbledore's dead, so whose army are we now? The Ministry? Although I'm not sure how long that will last either," he said, earning him a round of assenting murmurs.

She may have underestimated what the loss of Dumbledore had meant to all of them. This trusted mentor, the man who had promised to keep them safe at the start of the year. For them, just returning here had already been an act of defiance and courage.

"The thing is," Chang jumped in. "It's gotten awfully real. People are dying out there and we're still children. Is this our fight?" Though Ginny could see the loss of Harry and Cedric reflected in her eyes, it was difficult to feel sorry for her.

"Yeah, Dumbledore is gone. Dead," she replied, voice low. "And that is terrible. This is our world we're fighting for."

"But can we still win?" Corner challenged, Chang nodding along with his question.

As she hesitated, she could feel herself losing them. Harry may have been able to inspire them, speaking of courage and necessity, reminding them of what this world of theirs was worth. But Ginny couldn't. When they looked at her, they saw a scarred, broken girl who had lost two brothers; a cautionary tale, rather than an inspiration.

All alone. I told you I was your only friend.

The words were slipping through her fingers as she cursed herself for not having expected this. To her, it had been obvious they would still fight. To the rest of them, it had been obvious to stop. And slowly, they edged closer to the door and away from her. Astoria hadn't moved, but around her, everyone had. Even Padma was wanting to leave. She could tell it from the tension in her shoulders.

She was still looking for an answer when Susan Bones pushed to the front. Susan who had been orphaned twice now by Voldemort. Ginny realised she didn't know where Susan lived these days. From what she'd heard, she'd been one of the few who had stayed during the Christmas break. Ginny hardly dared to hope, but she looked too furious for someone who was going to deliver the finishing blow to Dumbledore's Army.

"What's the alternative to fighting?" Susan asked the crowd. "Rolling over? Handing over the Muggleborns? Anyone want to tell Colin and Dennis that?" she said with a wave of her hand, trembling with passion or nerves. Ginny couldn't tell for sure, all she knew was that she hoped Susan would keep going. "Or Dean and Justin? Maybe that's why they didn't come back. Because they knew their friends wouldn't fight for them."

"That's not fair, Susan, people are dying out there," Corner protested heatedly.

"I know!" she screamed. "Most of my family was butchered during the first war. My aunt was killed this summer. And I'm still here," she said, voice catching. "Look at Ginny. She's lost two brothers and four friends. She almost lost herself. And she's still here. Maybe that means the two of us are going to die, together with so many more. But I ask again, what's the alternative?"

"Surviving," Smith muttered.

"Oh yes, surviving in You-Know-Who's world. That's going to be great," Susan sneered. "A Pureblood like you will get off well. A Halfblood like me might end up with a decent Ministry job as well. But the rest?"

The silence was oppressive, with people looking everywhere but each other. Susan glanced at Ginny, as if seeking permission. Ginny nodded, unsure what Susan was asking from her, but she realised that for all her skills, this was a battle more suited to Susan.

Susan took out her wand and looked so mutinous, Ginny wondered – hoped, really – that she was going to hex Smith, Corner and all the other naysayers. Instead, she pointed it downwards.

"Flagrate." A fiery line was drawn on the floor, running from one end of the room to the other end. "I read this book once," she began, haltingly. "It was my mum's favourite, auntie told me. It was about this war and a line." Susan took another deep breath as she stared at her feet. When she looked up, her eyes were blazing.

"We know what's happening out there. And it will come here too. And that means… that means some of us are going to die. If you step over this line, you're in. If you don't, best of luck to you, but there's the door. Dumbledore wouldn't have forced anyone, nor will I. But we need to know where you stand."

Astoria was over it in an instant, as were Colin and Denis. After some more hesitation, Seamus and Ernie followed. Ginny could feel Padma glare at Parvati on the other end of the line until her twin joined them as well, together with Lavender. Chang and Corner were conducting a whole discussion in hushed tones and angry looks, until Chang crossed it alone.

Smith, Corner and Terry Boot lingered, but so did Katie Bell and Demelza. One by one, they left until only Demelza was still there, looking at the line, unable to meet her eyes.

"Demelza?" Ginny asked.

"I'm sorry, Ginny… But I made promises to my family as well," she said.

"You said you'd fight for your birth right, once," Ginny said, thinking of starry nights on the Astronomy Tower.

"Fight, yes, but not die," she said sadly and then left as well, leaving just eleven in the Room of Requirement.

It hadn't dawned on Ginny yet, filled as her head had been with Horcruxes, but Demelza hadn't sought her out once since the start of the new term. Now she knew why. Whatever friendship they had shared, it had not been enough. She took a deep breath and told herself it didn't matter. That she had ten by her side, even if Chang was glaring at her. A small army perhaps, but an army still. There had been only six when they went to the Department of Mysteries.

"Sorry for stealing your show, Ginny," Susan said, smiling wryly.

"Thank you for stepping in," Ginny said, wrestling the admission from her lips. She was grateful for what Susan had done, for saving ten. But a part of her wished she'd been able to do it herself.

"So, where do we go from here?" Padma asked.

"We keep training and practicing. I hope we'll never need it, but, well, it isn't looking likely," she said to murmurs of assent all around. "That said, I think this was enough for one day, don't you think?"

"Quite," Seamus laughed and the rest chimed in. Some dallied for a little while, but eventually they left, until it was just Chang, Astoria and the burning line.

"Just know I didn't do this for you, but for Harry and Cedric," Chang said before walking out.

"Guess she's still sour about your catch last year," Astoria remarked as soon as the door had fallen shut behind her.

"Yeah, it's definitely that," Ginny said before dropping down in a fauteil. "Merlin, I didn't expect that."

"They're cowards," Astoria spat.

"Just afraid," Ginny said.

"Please don't defend people like Smith and Corner," Astoria said, kneeling next to the line. "I didn't know Bones could get so dramatic. Never thought a Hufflepuff would have it in them."

"Guess this war brings out the best in some people."

"And the worst in others," Astoria mused.

KINGSLEY SHACKLEBOLT APPOINTED AS HEAD AUROR AD INTERIM

CORBAN YAXLEY TIPPED FOR PERMANENT APPOINTMENT

At the next meeting, there were still eleven of them. Now when they practiced, there was a ferocity to them that Ginny had only seen in Neville last year, after the Lestranges broke free. But this time, they all possessed it, that same feeling that something out there was coming for them.

Susan's shield withstood all of Ernie's assaults and Ginny could see he was giving it all, and that wasn't little either. Chang practiced with an air of finality to it all, every wand movement measured, every cutting curse clinical. Padma and Parvati were a mirror image, every jinx as perfect as its parry.

And Astoria, she finally got her Patronus to work. A beautiful silver crane that flew through the room and then landed next to her, haughty and dignified. That at least broke everyone's concentration and they gathered around it to admire the beautiful bird.

"I thought of breaking Nott's nose," Astoria deadpanned, and then added in a low voicer only Ginny could hear. "Still beat Corner".

And as proud as she was, still her heart tugged whenever she saw Colin and his little brother Dennis practice. They were all children growing up too fast, losing too much and fighting too hard, but in Dennis' case, it was the worst. She wished he at least hadn't crossed Susan's line – because that was what it had become, Dumbledore's Army, Susan's line and Ginny's leadership.

You're leading him to his death, Tom whispered and that she could not refute; all of them maybe. Was that how Harry had felt last year when they all marched towards the Department of Mysteries. Was that how it had felt when they all went down one by one, a nightmare turned real?

Malfoy does not interfere in the other two duels. He simply sits down next to the smouldering… to her brother's body. He catches her eye and winks. Ginny pushes herself upright and raises a trembling wand at him. Malfoy watches her and places a hand on his chest, as if saying, 'what, me?' Ginny wants to curse him then. She wants to kill him. But before she can push a spell past her lips that still feel so numb, she collapses again.

Meanwhile, Hermione battles Rookwood with a mad fury born of grief. The former Unspeakable blocks spell after spell, a laugh on his pockmarked face. He's older than the other Death Eaters, his movements slower and more measured as he parries spell after spell.

"You could have been quite something, girl. With the right tutor," he says, his voice barely more than a whisper, yet somehow it carries all the way across the chamber.

Hermione doesn't answer him, instead hurling another spell at him. Rookwood sidesteps it casually, not at all bothered by the fire reaching for him.

"But instead you chose opposition. And now you'll die as nothing. Like dust," he says, jumping on a bench, one hand on his heart, the other pointing the wand at Hermione. "Pulvis Astris."

It almost looks like the spell has failed, just a barely visible gust of wind that bursts from his wand and then sweeps past Hermione. She doesn't even need to dodge it. But then it turns back. Winds itself around her. It swirls faster and faster, like a cloud of dust surrounding her. Through it, Ginny can see Hermione mouth a scream. Then she fades from sight.

When the spell ends and grains of sand sink to the floor, she is gone.