Work Text:
Ginny was always set on being involved in resisting the new regime. She could not stand to the side as the majority of her family risked their lives.
They could not protect her from the terror of Voldemort like they wanted to. Her innocence on the matter was long gone, the diary and the chamber had made sure of it. It haunted her every day as she wondered if present Tom Riddle had any memory of her. It felt like a cold, heavy hand on her chest, preventing her from taking a full breath.
Hogwarts wasn’t what it used to be. Hostile teachers, a headmaster you couldn’t trust. It stood in stark contrast with the past year, where moments by the lake felt far more idyllic and hope had weaved into her day more smoothly. She was short on it now—but that did not mean she was giving up. There was not a chance.
She, Luna and Neville decided to continue the DA. Neville had sympathetically told her that’s what Harry would want, but she didn’t know if that was true. It did not matter. She knew what she needed to do be able to look at herself in the mirror, today and in the future. Letting cruelty happen and doing nothing was not an option.
They had to pick their fights. The Carrows weren’t going anywhere after all and they loved their torture. Sometimes the DA did small things. Writing slogans on the wall to show the students would not be complicit was a start. Ginny didn’t want to give the Carrows the impression they were welcome.
They tried to help out younger students whenever they could. They’d warn them and cover for them when needed, in the hopes they’d avoid punishment.
The Carrows weren’t the brightest but they caught on they were being sabotaged.
The DA were holding steady, it was working. Young students knew they could trust them. Then Luna didn’t come back after the Christmas holidays and no one had heard from her. Ginny wondered if the Lovegoods had gone into hiding, but her parents confirmed Xenophilius was very much at home, pretending nothing was wrong.
Ginny knew how much Luna meant to her father and she knew that man must be terrified.
Yet, she could not stop. Neville and Ginny continued organising small rescue missions, getting students out of the dungeons and causing distractions together with the bravest DA members.
Today Ginny would go out once again to write a message after curfew. It was good for the student body’s morale, and much less so for the Carrows.
Neville went over the plan one more time. She only listened with half an ear. They’d gone over it multiple times, and she knew what to do.
She squeezed his arm. “I’ve got it,” she reassured her.
He walked her through the portrait hole. She held her wand at the ready and stepped out.
It was dark and quiet in the empty corridors. She only took small staircases, avoiding the main one to avoid encountering any professors wandering around or anyone doing rounds.
When she arrived at the designated spot—just one corridor away from the grand staircase on the second floor—she paused and listened for any approaching footsteps.
It was eerily quiet.
It took one spell to turn her wand into a writing implement and she pointed it at the wall, relying on moonlight alone to spell out the words legibly.
We won’t back down. You can’t scare us.
- DA
She read over it one more time when she finished to verify she had not made any mistakes and then she swiftly began to make her way back upstairs.
Two floors up she heard a piercing scream. She could tell it was a student. She paused. The plan was clear. Make your way back up through the set of staircases in vacant hallways. No hesitation or it would not be guaranteed she wouldn’t encounter someone doing rounds.
Yet she couldn’t just leave in good conscience. Someone clearly needed her help. Her heart pounding, she went left instead of right, towards the noise.
She knew it was the right call when the student screamed again. The Carrows were at it again.
It wasn’t difficult to identify what room they were in once she came closer. Alecto was begging for information, and when the student insisted he didn't know, he’d get hit.
She could not march in there. She had to wait. She looked for a spot where she would be hidden from view and waited. The screams were terrible and she hated having to sit through them, but it was the student’s best option.
“Fine,” Alecto said as the student cried. “I’ll make sure you know how easy I’ve been on you. Perhaps a whip will get you talking.”
The door swung open and Alecto walked out. Ginny made sure Carrow was out of the corridor before she rushed into the room to rescue the student.
The Hufflepuff boy looked relieved when he spotted Ginny. She released his restraints with a simple spell and the boy fell down to his knees. He pushed up bravely, wiping at his tears.
“You need to run to your common room. Faster than you’ve ever run. Take the tapestry shortcut and don’t stop until you make it.” She locked eyes with him. “Do you understand?”
The boy nodded. “Okay.”
“Go.”
The boy took off running and instead of taking her own advice, she walked after the boy for just a bit to make sure he would make it, to cause a distraction if needed.
That had been a mistake.
“Where is Robert?!” Ginny could hear Alecto yell.
Footsteps came into her direction and Ginny knew—it would be her or the boy.
That decision was easy to make. She ran, loudly, hoping to lead Alecto away from Robert.
She ran as fast as she could.
“I will get my hands on you!” Alecto yelled.
Except Ginny was much faster than Alecto. She ran towards the Gryffindor common room but that was still far away.
She came to a halt in front of McGonagall’s office and in a split second she made the decision and slipped inside. She closed the door behind her.
She turned around and came eye to eye with Professor McGonagall, sitting at her desk, a biscuit it her hand and near her mouth.
Both of them stared at each other in silence. Alecto’s voice neared.
Without uttering a single word, McGonagall rose from her seat and slipped out of her office, closing the door behind her.
“Alecto, what on earth are you doing!” she said snappily.
Ginny bent over, catching her breath.
“Are you trying to wake up the whole castle or just this floor?” she continued.
“A student escaped…” Alecto was in front of the office too now, wheezing for air.
“You know my stance on corporal punishment, professor Carrow. I hope you are not expecting my assistance on the matter.”
Ginny felt like she was going to throw up.
“Quite frankly, I’d think it’s rather worrying that you are failing to cast a strong binding spell and seriously worry about your curriculum,” McGonagall continued.
It was quiet for a bit. “If you see him, bring him to me.”
“Hm,” Professor McGonagall said disapprovingly.
One set of footsteps faded out of the corridor. Ginny stepped back as the door opened.
“Not a word,” the professor said.
“But—!”
The sharp look she received made Ginny shut up.
McGonagall returned to her desk, picked up a slip of parchment and scribbled something on it.
“Will you tell my parents?” she asked.
“Biscuit, Weasley?” McGonagall asked, gesturing towards the open tin.
“I—sure,” Ginny said, picking one out and taking a small bite. “Professor?”
McGonagall signed the slip of parchment. “I see no point in informing your parents that you were sleepwalking. I’m sure they are familiar with your condition.”
Ginny nodded quietly.
“Take this.” The professor handed her the parchment that read:
‘Miss Ginny Weasley was caught sleepwalking after curfew and will return to the Gryffindor common room straight away.
With kindest regards, Professor Minerva McGonagall’
“I trust you can find your way back to your own common room,” McGonagall said. “No detours.”
“Yes, ma’am.” With biscuit and parchment in hand and a pounding heart, Ginny escaped the room and headed to the common room as quickly as she could without running.
“Are you alright?” Neville asked as soon as she stepped into the Gryffindor common room.
“Yes.” She nodded and waved the parchment. “McGonagall may have just saved me a ton of trouble.”
“What?” Neville asked.
Ginny explained with had happened with the Hufflepuff boy, sitting down on the couch.
Neville listened and then he picked up the note from McGonagall. “Ginny. This has no date.”
“Surely she wouldn’t forg—Oh.”
He nodded. “She wouldn’t indeed.”
There was hope. As long as there were people fighting the good fight, there was a chance. Ginny was going to clutch to it.