Tel' Qualohtarie

Chapter Six

They didn't meet again until school started again a week later. Draco had owled her to say that he had business elsewhere with Ethan at the moment and they would meet after school had begun. He made no mention of kissing her or anything else and Ginny assumed that he hadn't meant anything by it. She convinced herself that they had just been caught up in the moment and swore that she wouldn't let it happen again. Since she was already there, she went in early to the Welcoming Feast with Zacharias so they could talk before everyone else came. The professors began filing in, though neither of them noticed. Shortly, the other students were arriving in small throngs every few minutes and the pair had to go sit at their respective house tables.

The sorting was boring, as usual, and Ginny spent most of that time trying to catch Draco's eye, but he had some brown-haired Slytherin girl chattering away in his ear, practically draped around his neck. She was wishing she could go over and clock the girl so she could get a few seconds to ask him about Ethan when Dumbledore stood to make the start-of-term announcements. "I would like to remind you all, yet again, that the forest is forbidden to all students, as is the fifth floor corridor this year. We have three new professors on staff. Please welcome back Professor Lupin, who will be teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts. And welcome Professor Weasley, the Muggle Studies teacher who is not with us at the moment, and Professor Rosengard who will take over Potions."

Ginny glanced up at the mention of her father's name; he was still at Grimmauld Place, though Ron had said he had owled earlier to say he would be here in time for classes. She hadn't really spent much time with Ron or her other brothers lately and felt a bit guilty about it. Next to Professor Lupin, the new Potions professor sat. He caught her looking at him and winked those brilliant blue eyes at her. She knew there was an Appearance charm on him, but there was no doubt in her mind that it was Ethan. She listened idly to her classmates, not joining in the conversation as she tried once again to catch Draco's eye. At least Pansy had transferred to Durmstrang last year. The Feast was wonderful, as usual, and after it ended Ginny trudged up the stairs, carried along by the procession of students. She was passing the Charms classroom on the third floor when someone reached out and grabbed her, pulling her out of the crowd and into the empty room.

She whirled around, wand in hand, to find Draco smirking at her. "You little git," she said. "Don't ever scare me like that again!"

He sat down on one of the desks and said, "Have you figured out who the new Potions professor is?"

"Yes, it's Ethan. Are you his Secret Keeper?"

"Yes. I've been given special permission from Dumbledore to stay at the Manor, but you can't tell anyone. We'll keep training there," he replied, swinging his legs like a child.

"When's the next lesson?" she asked, a little upset that he only wanted to tell her what was going on and didn't mention their previous encounter.

"Saturday, after lunch. I should probably get going now," he stood and headed for the door.

As he passed her, she grabbed his sleeve and he paused. "Who was that girl?"

Draco looked utterly confused, "What girl?"

"The girl draped all over your neck," she snapped, releasing his arm.

He stared at her in disbelief, a small grin forming on his face, "Jealous, Weasley?"

She pursed her lips and stuck her chin in the air, opening the door, "Not at all. Just thought you should know how hideous she is before she becomes your permanent necklace. Then again, you've never had good taste in accessories."

She made to leave when Draco laughed and grabbed her, closing the door and leaning up against it. He pulled her to him and kissed her again. Everything around her became hazy as he undid her robe and slipped his arms around her underneath it to be closer to her skin. He trailed small kisses down the side of her neck, causing her breath to hitch in her chest. Abruptly, her head cleared and Ginny pulled away from him angrily. "Stop doing that!"

"What?" he asked nonchalantly, his hands still on her waist.

"Kissing me!"

"Why?"

"Because I said so! You can't just go around doing that whenever you want!"

"Sure I can," he replied, making his point by kissing her again. This time it was short and sweet and he finally released her. "Goodnight," he turned and left without another word or backward glance.

~&~

She didn't see him all week. When they passed in the halls, neither acknowledged the other and Ginny was far too busy to seek him out, even if she'd wanted to. Which she didn't, she constantly reminded herself. Unfortunately, he and Harry got into a duel on Thursday and she had to hear about him almost the rest of the day after that. Hermione, who had been mysteriously busy the past few weeks, was beginning her nervous breakdown over the N.E.W.T.s early and Luna wasn't helping with her odd comments and dreamy manner. One evening at dinner, she thought Hermione was going to reach across the table and strangle her if she said one more thing.

She was glad for the promotion of interhouse relations that Dumbledore and the other teachers were implementing, though she suspected Hermione had a lot to do with it. It meant Luna could sit with them without feeling any pressure from her housemates and the classes were a lot more mixed up this year. Not all the Gryffindors were in the same classes at the same time anymore, so Ginny was getting to know a lot more people.

She had one detention with the new Potions professor that turned out to be a brownie baking session in the kitchens. He reasoned that cooking was almost like Potions and he had really just wanted a chance to talk to her anyway. He didn't wear the Appearance Charm because the house-elves knew who he really was and he could just Apparate if anyone came in and Ginny thought she preferred his real face anyway. It was difficult thinking of him as a professor, much less having that sort of detached relationship when she was so strongly attached to him. She felt like she had known him for years already and deep down considered him a real friend.

The brownies were in the oven when Ethan tried to get her to talk about Draco, but she absolutely refused. "Come on, I know you two were up to something the other day," he coaxed, licking batter off the spoon.

"No, I got trapped up on the roof and he got me down, that's all," she replied firmly, taking the spoon from him to distract him from Draco.

"Hey, give that back! I already let you lick the bowl!" he protested, chasing her around the table. She giggled and climbed over it as he reached her side. He followed suit and wrapped his arms around her from behind, pinning Ginny's arms to her sides and wresting the spoon from her grasp, smearing brownie batter all over both their hands in the process. He released her smugly and continued with his spoon.

She laughed and said, "You really can't be a Death Eater, you remind me of my brothers." The second the words were out of her mouth, she instantly regretted it. She had spoken without thinking and the expression on his face changed from smug to thoughtful.

She was about to apologise when he sat down on a stool near the counter and patted the one next to him. "Come here, Ginny." Wordlessly, she obliged and he studied her for a moment before speaking again.

"Morality cannot be defined in terms of black and white, Light and Dark," he began, folding his arms and staring at her intently. "Let me rephrase this. If someone attacks me and I kill them, is that wrong?"

She cocked her head to one side, thinking, "Yes, because killing is wrong. But then, no, because he would have killed you if you hadn't killed him first. And if killing were wrong completely, then killing Voldemort would be wrong, no matter how evil he is. Okay, I see what you're trying to say..."

"Do you really?" he questioned. "I'm just trying to make you understand that you can't keep classifying people. All of us have demons, Ginny."

She gazed at him bemusedly and he stared right back, blue eyes boring into brown. Finally, she nodded. "I do understand and I'm sorry."

"No worries," he smiled. "But I think we burnt the brownies."

~&~

On Saturday, Ginny woke to someone calling her name and shaking her. It was early morning, the sun was still rising, and her eyes came into focus on bushy brown hair. "Hermione? What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

"Ginny, it's- it's Char- Charlie. Get dressed," Hermione sobbed.

She sat straight up in bed, throwing the covers off. "What happened?" she demanded as she hastily began to dress, grabbing her wand off the nightstand. There was no reply save sobs and Ginny stood in front of Hermione, shaking her, "Hermione! Tell me what happened!"

She choked up and replied, "It was Voldemort. He- he's in St. Mungo's and we have to go now. Come on."

As soon as Ginny heard the words 'St. Mungo's' she wanted nothing more than to be there right now. A vision of herself standing in the waiting room flashed through her head and she felt a sensation in her stomach like one has after spinning for too long. She closed her eyes to try and allay the feeling and when she opened them again she found herself actually standing in the waiting room at St. Mungo's. Even in the early morning it was fairly busy. The Healers were changing shifts and it was organised chaos everywhere.

She was about to go and ask someone where she could find Charlie when Dumbledore, Harry, Ron, and Hermione appeared, having Portkeyed here with an old black kettle that Dumbledore quickly stowed in his robes. Hermione ran up to her with Ron and Harry close behind, "Ginny! What happened? How did you get here? I was so worried when you just disappeared like that."

Ginny looked up at the Headmaster with a lost expression. She had no idea how to even begin to answer that question and honestly, she didn't know how she got here herself. Dumbledore caught her eye and gave her a scrutinising look. Thankfully, he drew everyone's attention away from Ginny by saying, "Let's go see how your brother is. Your mother and father are already here. I think- I think perhaps it is best for them to explain what happened." The four of them followed as Dumbledore led the way and people parted to make a path for him. They walked past a set of double doors and began climbing the staircase. Ginny became increasingly worried as they passed the second floor and the third. When the opened the double doors onto the fourth floor, Ginny prayed that they were going to go past the Janus Thickey ward.

She felt her breath hitch in her chest and her heart leapt to her throat when Dumbledore stopped and pointed his wand at the doors. Ginny let out an involuntary sob and heard Hermione next to her begin to cry again. As soon as the doors were unlocked, the four of them ran inside and Ginny immediately spotted her parents, Bill, and the twins gathered around Charlie's bed. Her mother and Bill were both crying and her dad looked very weary. She hugged her parents and turned to Charlie. He was looking up at her and smiling. Nothing seemed to be seriously wrong with him and she wondered why he was here. She leaned over to hug him and he tipped his head to one side, "Well, you're a pretty girl. But I daresay you're a bit too young for me. You must be about my little sister's age."

Ginny pulled back and stared at him in shock, tears prickling her eyes. "Charlie, I am-I-." She turned to her mother who promptly began sobbing again and her father wrapped his arms around her. "Dad? What-?"

He sighed and said, "The Killing Curse gone wrong. It- it makes one forget things, disorients them. Much like a Memory Charm backfired."

"Well is it permanent?" Ron demanded, Ginny had almost forgotten that he was there.

"It can be," Arthur replied sadly and tears began to streak down Ginny's cheeks. She ran to her dad and buried her face in his chest. He wrapped his free arm around her and kissed the top of her head.

She felt more arms encircling them all and then heard, "Oh, look. They've all got red hair. My family's got red hair too." Under the layers of her brothers she heard Harry and Hermione's muffled voices trying to shush Charlie.

~&~

After everything had been explained as far as they knew, Bill took Molly and Arthur back to Number 12 Grimmauld Place to get some rest. Dumbledore had said that Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny could stay until someone came for them and the twins had chosen to stay for a little while too. They took it in turns to sit with Charlie, but Ginny found it almost unbearable. Sometimes he would just stare off into space or sit and talk to them without recognising them or even himself. Other times he would get up and wander around, picking up things to examine them, flirting with the Healers, talking to the other residents of the ward. Watching her beloved older brother like this almost broke her heart and she cried until she had no more tears to cry then sat impassively. Around noon, the twins left to go get some lunch for the six of them and Ginny went to speak to one of the Healers about her brother's condition.

She reached the Healers' desk where a very young, pretty witch with honey-coloured hair sat, going over a patient's chart. "Can I help you, miss?" she asked, looking up at Ginny.

"Yes," she began tentatively. "I wonder if you could direct me to some-."

She was interrupted by a voice behind her, "Weasley?"

Ginny whirled around to find Draco standing behind her, a confused expression on his face. "What are you doing here, Malfoy?"

The young witch behind the desk said, "Mr. Malfoy, how wonderful to see you again." Ginny turned around to see the Healer smiling sweetly at Draco. "Your mother will be so pleased to see you. I believe she's in the Activities room with Gladys. They're painting today and I know how Narcissa always loves that."

"Thank you, Lynda," Draco smiled, reaching past Ginny to sign the visitor registry. Ginny just stood there with her mouth hanging open. Draco turned and headed down the short hallway to the Activities room, apparently he'd been here before. Without thinking, Ginny scurried after him.

As soon as they were out of sight of the Healer, Draco turned on her and pinned her against the wall, one hand next to her head, the other gripping her arm. "What are you doing here, Weasley?" he asked in a low and menacing tone and she should have been scared, but she wasn't. His nearness made her want to wrap her arms around him and cry into his shirt though she knew that was a completely irrational idea.

"It's- it's my brother, Charlie," she said quietly, feeling tears form the corners of her eyes. She hadn't thought she had any left. "My father said he was hit with a Killing Curse gone wrong."

He hmhed noncommittally and pushed away from her, continuing down the hallway, and knocked on a door with a big frosted window saying 'Activities'. He poked his head in and Ginny could hear someone greeting him, "Mr. Malfoy! Narcissa, look. Your son has come to visit you."

The door was flung open as a lady with curly blonde hair and big blue eyes came flying out and threw herself at Draco. She was very thin, but her cheeks had colour and her eyes were bright with health. She looked different, but Ginny still recognised the woman she had seen at the Quidditch World Cup the summer before her third year. "Lucius!" she squealed, kissing him on both cheeks. And suddenly Ginny knew that it wasn't Draco in the photograph she had under her pillow. It was his parents and they were happy and in love. And now...

There was a momentary flicker of pain in Draco's eyes that Ginny might have imagined as he responded, hugging her, "No, mum. It's Draco."

She released him and smoothed his hair. "Of course you are. I'm so glad you're here. Mother will be so pleased to finally meet you." She took his hand and began to lead him down the hall. He glanced at Ginny as they passed her with a look that almost dared her to say something. She stood there in complete and utter shock for a moment before following them to Narcissa's private room.

Draco's mother's name was on a small plaque next to the door and the pair paused in front of it. "This has my name on it," Narcissa wondered.

"Yes, mum. That's your room."

She then spotted Ginny standing near them and released Draco's hand to come and stand in front of her. "Hello, who are you?"

"I'm Ginny," she replied nervously, glancing over at Draco who simply glared at her. He's such a big help, she thought wryly.

"Well, Ginny, I'm Narcissa Black. Soon to be Narcissa Malfoy, but you can call me Cissa," she giggled and stared adoringly at Draco who looked away. Narcissa linked her arm through Ginny's and began walking; chattering away about something to do with a scandal in the Daily Prophet regarding a woman named Yanna.

They came to the room that Charlie was in and Ginny said, "Narcissa, it's been lovely meeting you, but I have to go to my brother now. He's very ill."

Sympathy immediately came into Narcissa's big blue eyes and she pulled Ginny into the room saying, "It's been lovely meeting you too, dear. Let me come with you, I make excellent chicken soup. Perhaps your brother might like some."

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea," Ginny replied, pleading to Draco with her eyes to help. A lady with fur all over looked over at them curiously and Gilderoy Lockhart peeked out of his curtains, staring at them suspiciously.

"Why ever not?"

"Mum, I think we should leave now. We've overstayed our welcome," Draco stepped in, taking Narcissa's hand.

She pulled away from him and took Ginny's hand again, whispering, "Lucius is always so formal and proper, I don't think he cares much for company. I would so love to meet your brother."

Ginny didn't know what else to do so she let Narcissa lead her down the row of beds. Thankfully, someone had closed the curtains around Charlie's bed. They stopped next to the curtains and Ginny whispered to Draco, "Ron, Harry, and Hermione are in there. Please do something."

He whispered back, "There's not a whole lot I can do. If she won't come with me, she won't come with me. If I try to force her, she'll throw a fit. You've always got to mess everything up, don't you?"

"Don't even think about blaming this on me, Draco Malfoy! You've got to get her to leave with you. We can't let her meet them. Charlie is very sick and I don't even want to think about Ron's reaction after all this," she said.

"Look, I don't want the bloody Dream Team to find out anymore than you do. I didn't want you to find out, but it's done. Let me go get Gladys and see if she can help," he replied, leaning over to whisper in her ear. "One word, Weasley, and you'll end up in the carriage house with no escape. If you thought the roof was bad..."

"You did that on purpose?!" Ginny screeched, then lowered her voice to an angry whisper as she heard stirring behind the curtain. "What in the world would possess you to do that?"

"Of course I did it on purpose. How do you think you were able to walk around freely the morning before that?" he replied calmly.

Draco straightened up and gave her a meaningful glance as he strode away to find Gladys. Ginny turned around to find Draco's mother gone. Her eyes furtively searched the room until she heard Narcissa's tinkling laugh coming from behind her. She yanked the curtains open to find Narcissa and Charlie sitting on the bed, talking about chicken soup. Ron, Hermione, and Harry were nowhere to be seen and Ginny breathed a sigh of relief as she closed the curtains again and said, "Uh, Cissa, we have to go now."

"So soon?" she whined as Ginny took her hand and dragged her off the bed.

"Yes, I'm afraid so. We can come back and visit Charlie later," Ginny said, peeking out of the curtain to make sure the coast was clear. Quickly, she and Narcissa made it out the door and into the hallway. They almost ran to the Activities room and she pushed Draco's mother gently through the door. Draco was speaking to a thirty-something woman with hideous purple robes on and they looked up as she said, "She's back. The Dream Team is gone, no one except Charlie saw her and he can't even remember who he is right now."

She stepped out of the room, closing the door to find Harry staring at her. She backed up against the door in surprise, her hand still on the knob. "Ginny? What are you doing?"

"Nothing," she replied a little too quickly. Someone on the other side of the door was trying to turn the knob, but she held tight. They pulled it open a couple of inches and she pulled back slamming the door into her back rather painfully.

Harry was looking at her suspiciously, most likely due to the tug-of-war she was playing with the door, "Um, Gin, are you alright? I know this has been really hard and I-."

"Harry!" she shouted, hoping whoever was trying to get out would take the hint. Harry looked taken aback and stared at her in confusion. She continued more quietly as the person on the other side stopped pulling on the door, "Nothing is wrong. I was just talking to some of the staff."

She released the doorknob and placed an arm around the completely bewildered Harry, leading him to Charlie's room. "Did you know they have so many excellent programs for the long-term residents here?" Ginny glanced over her shoulder to catch Draco poking his head out into the hall to see if they were gone. She winked at him to try and show him she would keep his secret and he gave her just a hint of a smile.

~&~

Professor Lupin had come for them before dinner and they Portkeyed back to Hogwarts with no trouble. He and Harry had whispered conspiratorially all through dinner and Ginny knew it was just another thing they wouldn't tell her. She sat up late in the common room, staring into the fire and thinking about Charlie and Narcissa, and Draco. She could only imagine the pain he had to go through every time he went to visit her. With Charlie, there was still hope that he would get better, but she didn't know about Draco's mother. From the way she acted, Ginny assumed that the same thing had happened to her and Charlie. The Killing Curse gone wrong. But why would anyone want to kill her? Lucius she could understand, but why her, she seemed nice enough?

The four of them stayed up late, so they had the common room to themselves and Harry and Ron were playing chess, just like they always did when something was bothering the pair. Ginny and Hermione were curled up in front of the fire in the same big armchair, not talking. She was beginning to get a little drowsy from the heat of the fire and the soft noises of the rain and her friends' voices and she dozed off momentarily.

Suddenly, she heard someone screaming. The gut-wrenching, agonising scream of someone in extreme pain. Her first thought was that something else had happened to Charlie, but suddenly she realised it was coming from her. Her head was spinning, rainbow flashes of light were bursting behind her eyelids, and her heart felt as though someone had ripped it from her chest and torn it into little pieces. Ginny thought she was dying. Or something inside her was dying. She had never felt such pain before; it was so intense she was almost numb. Every nerve in her body was on fire and she was certain that something horrible had happened. As soon as she thought that, she knew what had happened, who had died. Ginny opened her eyes to find three faces staring down at her in concern. She pushed them away and stood abruptly, still clutching her chest and panted, "John Davies." She ran from the common room, followed closely by her friends, yelling at her to stop and tell them what was wrong. But, she couldn't. She had to get to Dumbledore or Tonks or somebody. She had to tell them.

Ginny ran smack dab into Draco Malfoy right outside Dumbledore's office and banged her head on the gargoyle statue. She was sure the expression of intense grief and pain on his face was reflected on her own. They were helping each other up when Dumbledore and Morick descended the stairs and the trio who had been chasing her finally caught up. Then, Tonks, Rosier, Avery, and Roger Davies appeared out of thin air, carrying the body of John Davies. There was mass confusion as her friends pulled out their wands and Ginny and Draco joined the group surrounding John. Tonks, Ginny, and Roger were all crying and Dumbledore and Morick were trying to figure out what happened, but Rosier and Avery were practically incoherent through their grief. Harry and Ron were shouting about Death Eaters and telling Dumbledore to get out of the way and Hermione was crying again.

After only a moment, Dumbledore raised his hands in the air and shouted, "QUIET!" Silence fell over them and the only sounds that could be heard were muffled sobs. He turned to the three students behind him, "Now, you will kindly put away your wands and return to your dormitory."

"But, sir! The Death Eaters!" Ron protested.

Dumbledore gave him a stern look. "Do you think I'm not capable of handling two Death Eaters on my own?"

Ron turned red and said, "Well, no. But-."

"Mr. Weasley, you will please not meddle in things you know nothing about. Now, return to your dormitories," he commanded.

The others began to leave, but Ron said, "What about Ginny? She was hurt and I-."

"Mr. Weasley! You will please not meddle in things you know nothing about," Dumbledore admonished him again. "Your sister is needed here right now. I will send her when she is finished." Ron looked very upset about this, but made to follow the others back to Gryffindor Tower.

Dumbledore turned back to Avery and Rosier, who were somewhat more composed, "Please explain what has happened."

"Sirs," Ethan inclined his head to both Morick and Dumbledore. "Roger, Nymphadora, and myself went to retrieve John as planned. We got him out of his cell fine and were headed out of the place when the Death Eaters came. They attacked and John was killed. Avery helped to deflect them without their knowledge."

Morick sighed wearily, "I was afraid something like this would happen." He turned to Avery and asked, "Can you safely return to the Dark?"

"I can," Jonathan Avery replied. The anger and reluctance was evident in his eyes as he turned to Dumbledore. "Master of the Light, I am sorry for the loss of John."

"As am I," Dumbledore said sombrely. Avery nodded his head curtly and was gone.

Ethan gazed at Dumbledore and Morick and said, "I couldn't speak freely in front of Avery, he is still loyal, but the Dark Lord has the Power and the Dark Key and it is only a matter of time until it tries to find it's true owner. As soon as that happens, she'll be in danger. We all know how ruthless he can be."

"I am the Guardian, I will take care of her. You worry about everything else," Draco spoke up from his position still kneeling next to John Davies' body, his arm around Tonks who was still sobbing.

"We can still retrieve it without harm to anyone," Dumbledore gave Ginny the briefest of glances. "Please put the Appearance charm back in place before you go anywhere else in the castle, Ethan."

He nodded and said, "I have some business to attend to, but I'll be back before morning." With that, he disappeared with a pop.

Morick and Dumbledore stood above the group gathered around their fallen comrade. Though she hardly knew him, Ginny's arms were wrapped around Roger and she was rocking him slowly as he cried into her lap. Her own tears fell into his thick brown hair and she found she could not stop them, despite the fact that she had met John Davies only once in her life. Her heart was aching and she knew that a small part of her had died with John Davies. As she looked up at him through her tears, Morick spoke softly, "In the morning, we will lay your father to rest and observe his passing."

Roger looked up at Morick's craggy face and said, "I would like to prepare his body."

Morick leaned down and took Roger's face in his hands, "My friend, it would be better if you did not. Allow others to care for him and preserve his dignity."

Roger sniffed, nodding, and Morick released him to take John's body and was gone with a resounding crack. Roger sat up and Ginny released him as well saying, "You need rest."

"You are right," he stood and turned to Dumbledore and then Tonks. "Thank you, sir. Thank you, Tonks."

Tonks looked up at him and whispered, "I would have died a thousand times in his place. I'm sorry things worked out this way. John was a good man."

Roger looked very sober and said, "Yes, I know." And with a soft pop, he disappeared as well. Ginny was left with no one to hold and comfort and felt herself floundering in her own grief over John and Charlie. She stared over at Tonks and Malfoy and appreciated for the first time that they were cousins. Their mothers were sisters.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Dumbledore's quiet voice, "Ms. Weasley, you may return to your common room. I have no need to remind you of the secrecy of your order."

Ginny wiped her tears away and replied, "No, but how do you know sir?"

"I am the Master of the Light," he said simply, offering no further explanation and Ginny found that she didn't need one. She already knew. She crawled over and gave Tonks and Malfoy one big hug and stood. Ginny turned to Dumbledore and buried her face in his long white beard for a moment before climbing the stairs to Gryffindor Tower.

It seemed to take a very long time and no time at all to reach the common room. She climbed through the portrait hole to find Ron, Harry, and Hermione waiting for her. "WHAT in the BLOODY hell was THAT all about?" Ron bellowed before she was even properly through the entrance. Thankfully no one else was still in the common room.

Ginny sighed and straightened her clothes. "I can't explain that." She had to convince Ron to drop this.

"Well, why was Malfoy there? And the Death Eaters? And why did Dumbledore say you needed to stay?" Hermione asked.

"The Death Eaters were there and Dumbledore said I needed to stay because John Davies has been killed by Death Eaters while on a mission for the Order of the Phoenix and I can't explain that any further, so don't ask."

"That still doesn't explain why Malfoy was there," Hermione said thoughtfully, raising an eyebrow. Ginny glared at her and her eyes got big and she shut her mouth.

"That's it. I'm going to talk to Dumbledore about him! He could be dangerous to the Order and Harry," Ron yelled.

He stormed past her and Ginny caught his arm, effortlessly pushing him back toward his friends. Her grief was beginning to turn into anger. He stared at her in confusion, almost frightened and said, "Ginny, what's the matter with you?"

Ginny blew out a long breath and replied, "I can't explain to you, but Malfoy is my problem and I will deal with it. You go now and you'll only make things worse."

"But Ginny-," Harry started.

"No, but Ginnys," she interrupted angrily. "Look, do you remember the sorting hat's song in your fifth year and my fourth year?" They nodded. "Well, have we taken its advice?"

They shook their heads and Ron said, "But Malfoy doesn't want to cooperate with us either. He's a lousy, dirty Slytherin and he's got no right to-."

She interrupted him. "What efforts have you made to work with any of the Slytherins?"

He thought hard for a moment and said, "It's their fault. They don't want to join us."

"How do you know? Have you asked any of them?"

"Well, no, but-."

"Ron, it takes two people to have a fight."

"Ginny, why are you standing up for Malfoy anyway?" Harry asked. "He's never been even remotely nice to you."

"How do you know that? I dislike Malfoy just as much as any of you, but I still have to work with him for the good of us all," she retorted and his eyebrows shot up. "And I'm not standing up for Malfoy. I'm standing up for the other houses, Slytherin included. Luna isn't a Gryffindor."

She tried to reason with them, "Slytherins aren't the only ones who turn to the Dark side, you know that. So many students have left the school; they didn't have to stay. Everyone who is still here is here because they've got some reason to want to be here. Don't you understand?" By the expressions on their faces it was apparent that only Hermione had an inkling of what she meant. Ginny sighed and said, "Goodnight."

Ron sputtered, "Hey! Don't I get any say in this? I want some explanations! Am I the only one who still has a problem here?"

"RON!" Ginny shouted. "Haven't we had enough to deal with today? JUST DROP IT! I don't want to hear one more word about Malfoy or Voldemort or anything! GOODNIGHT!" With that, she grabbed Hermione's hand, dragging her up the stairs to bed.