Ginny found the newly tough training exhaustive. She had been running around from attacker camp to flying camp every two hours. She sincerely considered taking her broom instead, but dropped it after her coach, Oliver Wood, reprimanded the idea for misusing her flying abilities.

Wood was a great coach. The only flaw in his training was that he barely allowed breaks. The fliers were given the task of performing barrel rolls, feints and even dives. The tougher tasks for more experienced flyers included a combination of two of the techniques; some even practiced all three of them together.

About Harry, she did not manage to get more information; he had maintained his silence until dusk, only saying hello upon an encounter. However, after dinner, he had taken her and Neville aside to talk and she knew, by the serious look on his face, that it was something really confidential.

He applied silencing charms around the tent they were in before talking. "Alright guys, whatever I'm going to tell is extremely confidential and even personal."

Neville leaned against the pole that was helping the tent to stand. "I've never heard such a fierce tone from you. Go on, mate." Ginny nodded her confirmation. Harry's body language showed the seriousness of the situation and the fact that he chose her to confide in gave her an odd sort of butterflies. Sure, Neville was part of it as well but they had been friends way before she joined the group.

"We won't tell anyone," she confirmed with a firm tone.

Harry let out a tired sigh, indicating his frustration. "Voldemort attacked my parents' cottage at the Godric Hollow." A tense silence followed the announcement before he broke it. "The cottage was already in ruins but what matters most now is that there are some casualties and victims."

The girl gasped, feelings tears stinging her eyes at the thought of those pitiful, brave souls who had to tragically lose themselves. If the world was to be destroyed, it might as well be vanquished fully rather than by portions. The melancholic state of the survivors, the pain of the injured victims would never be washed away. The girl decided that it was a very gloom thought to ponder on and was better left untouched for when she wanted to feel vulnerable.

Neville sighed, as if the loss was nothing new. "I can predict that he's starting to attack places of importance to you?"

Harry nodded in response, taking out his wand and polishing it with a soft linen cloth. Ginny and Neville observed him for minutes before the girl spoke up.

"Which other place do you consider close, Chief?"

Harry's eyes narrowed at her, the atmosphere changing negatively almost spontaneously. The linen cloth fell to the ground as if it were but a feather. "That is what I am worried about. It is Hogwarts. . ."

—xoxo—

"Reducto! Flipendo! Confringo!" The boulder that she was attacking finally exploded into a million tiny pieces, her confidence rising subsequently.

"Ah, those were great moves, Weasley!" The appreciation from her mentor, Sirius, reached her ears and a soft smile broke out across her face in pride. She wheeled around to find him right behind her. "If you blast the foes with that agility and power, they ain't gonna be nearing Hogwarts!"

The smile now turned into a wide grin. "Thank you, Commander Black. I shall become better."

"That's the spirit. My godson was right about you. I can sense something from you."

"An aura of determination radiates from you." Remus Lupin, the Right Hand of Dumbledore, sneaked from behind Sirius with a reassuring smile on his scarred face. Despite the physical flaws, he was a kind man who exuded knowledge beyond his years.

"Ah, Moony. You do know that I love it when you sneak up on me, don't you?" Sirius said, crossing his arms over his chest with a sarcastic huff.

"That, Padfoot, is exactly why I did it!" The two men started bickering about how one should always be vigilant with Sirius defending by explaining how one cannot always have his or her guard up. Their argument faded into the background, as she reminisced how her brothers always did the same thing by usually popping up without notice and reprimanding the others to never let their guard down lest a ten-eyed monster attack them. Of course, the monster was just a fantasy nevertheless it did leave a frightening impression on the minds of the younger Weasleys.

Ginny was startled out of her confused stupor when an annoying voice drawled behind her. "Will you both stop arguing like old married mutts and be solemn for once in your lifetime?" A man in long, black robes stood by her, his greasy hair moving uneasily with the wind. His demeanor seemed really dark. "The King wants to meet you both and asked for you to get Potter along. I shall leave now as I've done my task."

"Who was he?" the girl found herself asking the two mentors, when the man left, who exchanged glances before answering her.

"Severus Snape. We don't trust him that much but The King does so I think it wise to go with it," Remus said. Sirius merely shrugged. "But if you can avoid him, do it."

To this, Sirius nodded his agreement. "Yeah. Now, are you up for a challenge, young man?"

What could she say? She was never the one to back down from a challenge and a fierce duel it was.

—xoxo—

When Ginny returned, she was greeted by loud noises of protest in the camp. At least, that was what she thought it was. She spotted Luna among the crowd.

"What's happening here, Luna?" she asked, mustering as much a manly voice as possible when she had to shout to be heard. Luna smiled, as if knowing her struggle.

"I daresay there's a Wrackspurt invasion here."

"What she means is that the time has come for us to prove ourselves." Neville's voice came from somewhere to the side. Ginny tried to look for him, but her petite stature did not allow more than to skim through couple of heads. "Voldemort never intended to keep his promise when he said that he would give the camp a time of ten weeks."

Dun dun dun! A cliffhanger! I hope you guys already anticipated this foul play! ;)

Thank you for reading!

Miyoko x