One: A New Age
"Welcome into a new age."
Snape's words hung in the air. Ginny could feel the tension build in the hall, like a dam threatening to burst. Hundreds of students with questions, concerns and dread. Just when she thought it was reaching a boiling point and the hall felt ready to burst into noise, Snape spoke again, his silky smooth voice undercutting it all.
"Augustus, why don't you and your friends join me in my offices so we can discuss our plans? I fear the headmaster's office will first require some redecoration," he said, rising and walking towards them. All eyes in the Great Hall followed his easy gait, looking for all intents and purposes like a conqueror.
Her mind was racing with possibilities and things they needed to do right now. Dumbledore's office they needed to clear out. The memories, the pensieve and the sword. They hadn't been prepared for this. She hadn't been prepared for this.
Of course, they'd know the war was going poorly. They'd known the Ministry would fall. And still, every day she'd hoped for just one more day. Until the days ran out. But even then, she'd never expected they'd come to Hogwarts that quickly, or that Snape would simply let them in. In her mind there would have been defiance, a stalwart resistance.
At least he had bought them time with his invitation. Did that mean that he was still on their side? Or simply that he was too busy gloating? It was difficult to say as Rookwood pumped his hand and grinned, two men revelling in a shared victory paid for in blood.
Somehow, amidst the crowd, he found her, eyes narrowing as he remembered. He said something to Snape who nodded and then a not entirely sane grin spread across his face. It made her skin crawl.
In lockstep, the two Death Eaters left the Great Hall and soon as they had, it exploded with whispers. People ran to and from, but fortunately, the last of the D.A. remained seated, rather than converging on her. At least they had learned the value of subtlety since last year, when Umbridge's decree had sent them all running to Harry.
Parvati, however, leaned over, her face grave.
"This is it, right?"
It. Such a tiny word, containing so much. The Ministry fallen, Snape headmaster, the war over, or so he'd claimed. Would the Order feel the same? If they still existed? If her friends and family weren't lying somewhere, eyes glassy and bodies still faintly green from the Killing Curse.
No, that couldn't be. She shook her head and forced the despair away. It wasn't over. They'd count on her to keep fighting and she had to extend the same trust to them. They were smart, veterans of one war already. They'd find their way. And so would she.
"This is it. Gather the rest in the Room of Requirement. Without drawing attention," she added, eying the Slytherin table with suspicion. She shouldn't have worried, Nott and his friends were too busy congratulating themselves and slapping each other on the back. They would be a problem, once they would start to wield their new power and began to discover how far they could go. But for now, they were simply enjoying the joy of having won.
"And what will you do?" Parvati asked.
"Something else. It shouldn't take long."
With a sound like a firecracker coming from his wand, Flitwick finally restored order. Even then, it took him three attempts before most of the murmurs had died down and even then, the Slytherin table was still boisterous.
"I think that in light of Headmaster Snape's words," he began and Ginny could hear him tripping over the title. "We can cancel today's classes in observation of the news," he concluded, looking ashen-faced.
Ginny wished McGonagall was here, someone from the Order that she could trust. Instead, all she had was Snape whose loyalties were more in doubt than ever, and the rest of the staff who Dumbledore had never been able to convince to join the war full on. Perhaps that didn't make them cowards, but right now Ginny wasn't feeling very generous.
At least the cancellation came in handy, even if it didn't matter much to her. Today she started with DADA anyway and neither Snape nor Rookwood seemed very interested in teaching on this glorious day. Still, it would free up Astoria, who was currently making her way towards her, struggling to navigate a gaggle of Hufflepuffs gathering around – of course – Susan Bones.
"We've lost?" Astoria asked when she finally reached Ginny.
Despair was lurking in her voice, the kind she'd only dared to show when they had been alone in the Chamber of Secrets before. Astoria's hand was tightly wrapped around her wand, as if she expected an attack any moment. But why would they? Snape had already let them in. At this point, there was hardly any need for violence.
"No. We always expected to lose the Ministry. But the war isn't over," Ginny said. "though I doubt they'll risk sending owls right now. I'm sure I'll learn more during the Easter break."
If she would still be allowed to leave. If there was still anyone left for her in the Burrow. A thousand ifs all threatening to overwhelm her.
If I'm merciful, Tom contributed.
She squashed all those traitorous thoughts and focused on Astoria in front of her. One step at a time, with no time to lose.
"We go to Dumbledore's office, now. Before Snape redecorates," she added with as much loathing as she could muster. "Then, the Room."
Astoria nodded, her usual mask sliding back in in place and her back straightening. She even took the time to brush a piece of lint from her robes. Then, about fifty owls swooped in, all clutching an extra edition of the Daily Prophet in their talons. One landed near Ginny, its headline visible to all.
The war is over. There is nothing to fear
Students halfway departing were frozen in place. The few still eating paused mid-bite. Conversation grinded to a halt as everyone drank in those words they so wanted to believe. So reassuring.
So false.
There had never been a time to be more afraid. It was just like the Prophets last year, when they ridiculed Harry. They hadn't believed him until it was too late and now they had ended up with this.
"Incendio!" Ginny said, watching as the offending rag went up into flames, hungry tongues of fire consuming the lies.
The rest of the table looked at her, but she just marched off, stowing her wand. As tempting as it was to burn every single copy spreading lies, she had work to do.
#
They moved quickly and efficiently, Astoria shrinking the vials as Ginny stored them in a small wooden case. While the vials definitely looked like they had been charmed to be unbreakable—and really anything else would have been unforgivingly lax by Dumbledore—she wasn't taking any chances. The sword of Gryffindor they simply wrapped in a particularly garish pink tablecloth that only could have belonged to their late Headmaster. The pensieve, on the other hand, proved to be a bit more of a conundrum.
"Can we shrink it?" Astoria asked.
"I don't know," Ginny admitted, scratching her head. Usually, you could shrink magical objects, but nigh unique artefacts could get a bit tricky. "Let's just take it like it is. See if you can find another tablecloth to wrap it in.
It was almost depressing how quickly Astoria found another cloth, this one sky blue with embroidered clouds on it. Wisest wizard since Merlin or not, Ginny had some serious doubts about his fashion choices.
The bookcases they left mostly undisturbed. Tempting as it was to keep all this knowledge from Snape's hands, he was bound to notice if they left him only empty bookcases. Besides, she doubted even Dumbledore's collection could teach him much on the subject of Dark Arts. That said, they still liberated Secrets of the Darkest Art. Such a clue they simply couldn't leave lying around.
Clutching their prize, they hurried to the Room of Requirement, the school too much in a confused uproar to pay much attention to two fifth years lugging around stuff. Even when they entered the Room, hardly anyone noticed, the nine other remaining members of Dumbledore's Army too busy discussing amongst themselves. Only Dennis noted their arrival and flashed them a wan smile. The rest was too busy watching Susan and Lavender, who seemed to be having a shouting match.
"All I'm saying is, I want us to be sensible," Lavender protested.
"Sensible? Or spineless? Do I need to draw another line?" Susan threw back, going red in the face.
"No Susan I do not need you to draw another fucking line!" Lavender retorted. "I'm still with you all, but I don't want to overreact before we know what's going on."
"I never figured Gryffindors for the timid kind, yet here we are," Susan muttered. Lavender's eye twitched and Ginny decided it was probably time to jump in.
"Alright everyone, what's going on?" she said, positioning herself between the two girls, just in case they decided to go for their wands.
"Lavender thinks 'there is nothing to fear'," Susan said, adding air quotes in a way that reminded Ginny of the old Percy. Suddenly, Ginny understood a bit better why Lavender looked like she wanted to hit Susan.
"All I'm saying is, we shouldn't make hasty decisions. All we got is one Prophet, that Ginny set fire to," Lavender added with a raised eyebrow. "And Snape's word."
"And Death Eaters in the Great Hall, including Augustus fucking Rookwood. What more do you need?" Susan countered.
"How about a responsible adult who tells us what to do? In case you forgot, last time the D.A. took things into their own hands, that didn't go so well," Lavender said.
Lavender knew she'd gone too far the moments left her mouth. Ginny could tell by her stricken look. Still, it was about a second too late to swallow her words. Ginny could feel all eyes on her, except Lavender's, who suddenly was looking everywhere except Ginny.
"Right, let's take five," she managed to breathe out, putting the shrouded pensieve down before the impulse to throw it at Lavender's head got too strong.
The group quickly scattered in their usual cliques of house colours. Only Lavender lingered, and Astoria who had no other Slytherins to group up with.
"Listen, Ginny-" Lavender began but Ginny shut her up with a gesture.
"Lavender, not right now," she said, massaging her temples.
Prophecies shatter all around them, a horribly cacophony of whispers and promises even as Death Eaters scream and spells flash. They run and try not to think about who is behind them. Not just Lucius Malfoy, but Bellatrix Lestrange. The most feared of You-Know-Who's servants. She wants to glance at Neville, to make sure he's doing alright, but she's too afraid to miss a step or turn.
Her heart is beating in her chest, pumping around blood as she grips her wand. Suddenly, it's no longer a game.
"If it wasn't real before, it's real now," she whispered.
"Hmm?" Astoria asked, carefully inspecting the wooden box with the memories, making sure they'd handled the journey well.
"Nothing," Ginny said as she tied back her hair and took a deep breath. "I just didn't expect it to go this fast."
"Me neither. At least Snape's on our side," she muttered.
"I'm not so sure anymore," Ginny admitted, earning her a worried look. "I'll tell you later. But during detention he acted…" Insane? Terrifying? Ruthless? "Erratic. I think we'll have to be careful around him. Even if he's still on our side, he's changed with Dumbledore gone."
"Great," Astoria muttered. "Do you know where McGonagall is?"
"I hope she'll be back at the High Table soon. I'd feel at least a bit more at ease with her here," Ginny admitted. "But first let's see if we still have a D.A."
"Alright everyone!" she shouted. "Let's talk. In case you hadn't noticed, we have a problem. The Ministry as we know it has in all likelihood fallen. I don't know for sure if Yaxley is a Death Eater, but as he appointed Snape as headmaster, I doubt he's got our best interests at heart," she began, earning her a nervous chuckle from the group. "Also, we got a bona fide Death Eater on staff now-"
"Two if you're counting Snape," Seamus interrupted, earning him an annoyed elbow between the ribs from Parvati.
"Fine, two," Ginny amended, "and he'll apparently be teaching Dark Arts, with the defence against part having gotten lost somewhere along the way. I don't have to tell you, that's bad."
"So, what does that mean for us?" Chang asked, standing alone against a wall.
"Well, I think we're going to have to be a bit more subtle than before. This is like with Umbridge, only worse. We're lacking information, but it looks like the war we've been preparing for has come here."
"Yeah, fine, but does that mean we fight?" Chang pressed. Ginny resisted the urge to punch her in the nose.
"Not yet. Umbridge handed out detentions for being rebellious. I think Rookwood might be worse," she said.
"Worse than a blood quill?" Seamus challenged.
"Much worse," Ginny said simply, turning her face so that Seamus got a good look at her scars. He swallowed and she could feel the tension increase in the room.
"So, we're keeping our heads down?" Susan asked.
"There's nothing to be gained from talking back to these people," Chang replied for her. Ginny could tell she was thinking about Cedric. It made her wonder if Harry had ever told her precisely what had happened.
"If we can. Unless they do something that forces our hand," she added, trying not to think about what that would mean. "Let's try to get a feel for what's going on here, alright, See if we hear something from home, or even the Prophet. But for now, please, please be careful. We'll meet again next Tuesday, as usual. And keep your eyes and ears open."
#
It wasn't a message from home, or even the Prophet that gave them more information. It was The Quibbler. On Tuesday morning, an owl suddenly deposited a booklet in front of her, completely blank except for the heading 'The Quibbler' and a message in runes on the third page.
Ginny had almost forgotten she still had a subscription, not having received a single edition since the one from last summer. But now, they suddenly got this. A shame she'd never taken runes though. No matter how much she squinted, they kept looking like gibberish.
Fortunately, Astoria had chosen better electives. However, when she presented her friend with the puzzling publication, she just frowned, squinting and shaking her head.
"These aren't runes," she declared.
"Are you sure?"
"Ginny, I've been cramming these things for two months now because I know I'm destined to fail my O.W.L. otherwise. These are not runes," she declared rather primly. "Frankly, it looks like complete gibberish. Maybe a joke edition?
But Ginny knew it wasn't that. If Xenophilius Lovegood bothered to publish something after almost a year of silence, it had to mean something. And with no news from the outside, and Professor McGonagall still conspicuously absent from Hogwarts, this was her only lead.
She spent the whole double block of History of Magic wondering. Binns was halfway some discourse on Bodrod the Bold, or maybe Urg the Unseemly—she really didn't know or care—when it finally hit her. The Quibbler had had a publication on Ancient Runes before. Almost two years ago now, when Luna had been reading the magazine upside down. It had been the same edition revealing Sirius to be Stubby Boardman.
She cast a quick look around, but her classmates all had the same half-sleeping expression common to Binns' classes, and Binns himself was wholly lost in telling in just how many pieces Gomgod the Gutter had cut his enemy Org the Orange. Ginny filed away the answer – thirteen – for trivia night and dug out the Quibbler from her bag, turning her edition around.
Suddenly, the runes seemed to blur and change, dancing on the page until they became regular letters. Not just letters, words.
'Nargles and?' they asked
"Wrackspurts?" she told the magazine, feeling like a total idiot. And suddenly, words appeared on the page, one after another. Pictures as well, of wizards fighting and the Dark Mark. And above it all, one headline far more honest than anything the Prophet had offered so far.
You-Know-Who takes Ministry after hard-fought battle
A/N: My apologies for the wait, but my muse has been elusive. It took a while, but she's back now. A few disclaimers/public service announcements
Book 2 is almost done and will be significantly shorter than book 1. I expect it will clock in around 40k words. The first draft is done, after which editing will commence. So depending on time & energy, chapter 2 may still take a few weeks, after which regular updates will follow
There may be some style differences. The first 4 chapters were written back in 2021 when I wrote the original book. I hadn't written much since end 2022, until I began anew. My rustiness may show. In addition, the book wasn't written chronologically and it took a while for me to figure out what theme I wanted to underpin it all (the plot I'd known for years though)
Many thanks to all the people who took time to comment over the years, it warmed my heart and encouraged me not to give up on this story. All the love
It's good to be back