1996 - ginny weasley

chapter 33

there is a big time-jump here. this will be a chapter written as a diary entry by Violetta

Dear diary,

It is May 1, 1998. Harry, Ron, and Hermione returned to the castle a couple of hours ago. They had been gone for months with no word. Voldemort has returned, more powerful than ever. Dumbledore is dead, Snape is now the headmaster. The ministry is full of death eaters, most wizards and witches being murdered. Nobody, muggle or wizardkind is safe. It's rumored through students of the younger years Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry might not make it to the end of the term. I never thought the place I would always refer to as home would be destroyed. 

Ginny and I have been quite content by ourselves. All we really do these days is spend time working on plan after plan. All this planning, but no use for it. The only thing close to Voldemort here is a few death eaters that replaced the teachers who were fired, killing, in hiding, etc. I'm starting to get sick of the room of requirement. Sitting around, listening to the radio Fred set up speak name after name. Who has gone missing, who has been killed, who has been kidnapped, who has been spotted, the list goes on. It was no surprise everyone was out of their minds with excitement when the trio returned after so long. Finally, people were smiling in this place. 

I won't forget the look on Ginny's face when Harry came in. She was the first one to run up and hug him. I always get jealous about this stuff, but I tried to put myself in her shoes. He had been gone for so long, and they were close. She would've never forgiven herself if he died while they weren't on good terms. I had simply greeted all three of them with a small hug, quickly sinking back into the crowd. The past few weeks just being around all the people gave me headaches.

If this is the last thing I write before the battle we are awaiting, I would like to thank my mother. Andromeda Black. I wanted to thank her for leaving me to another family because without that my life would be different. I would not have gotten to meet my hilarious step-sisters or my kind step-dad. I wouldn't have bonded with the Weasley family, which meant little hope of having the relationship I have now with Ginny. Without my mother, I wouldn't be standing here. I hope I can greet her when all this is over. 

As my good friend once told me, there's an old muggle saying, that I think of often these days.

"Everything happens for a reason."

Signed,   Violetta L. Black 

I closed my diary, hiding it in my desk. My trunk was gone with all my belongings. I couldn't risk losing anything valuable, so I took out only what I needed and secretly apparated my things back to my mother's house. My step-father, Ted, had been killed not too long ago by Snatchers working under Voldemort. She stayed with my sisters, hiding in the house under protection spells. I had given them all my goodbyes and disapparated back here.

Now it was practically night. Every student and staff had been called to the Great Hall by Professor Snape. I exited the deserted Slytherin common room and quickly jumped into the single-file lines of my house. We spilled into the hall, lining up across from the other houses. Snape looked treacherous like he hadn't eaten or slept in weeks. Every student was silent.

Snape began to explain how he knew Harry had been spotted on the grounds. Not a single student said a word, fearing what would happen if they even coughed. 

"If anyone here has any knowledge on Mr. Potter's whereabouts I invite them to step forward..." Snape said gravely, taking a step towards the pile of Gryffindor students.

"Now." 

It all happened so quickly. Harry stepped forward, in front of everyone in the school. The order burst through the door, familiar faces entering the hall. Sparks shooting out of wands. Snape was gone. Cheering, applause, whoops of happiness.

But then a sharp whisper pierced the air. Screams of terror, hands to our ears. It was the voice of Lord Voldemort, demanding Harry be brought to him or every single student and staff's life would be at risk. It would mean war. 

"Well, what are you waiting for. Somebody grab him!" Pansy shouted. Nobody in the castle wanted Hogwarts to be destroyed. Nobody wanted a war. The only thing was Harry was the price to pay for keeping everyone safe. The Slytherins weren't fond of Harry, as they muttered in agreement with Pansy.

"There will be nothing of the sort. Professor Filch, please escort all of Slytherin house to the dungeons. They will remain there until told to exit," McGonagall ordered. 

What? The dungeons? The castle surely would collapse on us if we were to be trapped down there. Why was she doing this?

Suddenly I was being shoved, pushed along with all the other students of Slytherin. 

"Get your bloody hands off of me! You can't do this" I screeched, looking back for help. I was not going to be killed because I was a Slytherin. This was ridiculuos.

"Violetta! Wait!" Ginny screamed running towards me and grabbing my wrist but her hand slipped away and dissolved into the crowd. 

"Ginny!" I shouted, but she was gone. Flashes of green robes swarmed around me. Students shouted, yelling for help. The younger ones stayed silent, their eyes wide in fear. They didn't know what was going to happen to us.

The Slytherins had posed as a threat to Harry's safety due to the excessive amount of us that were children of death eaters or disliked Harry in generally. The staff would be sending us to the dungeons because down there we couldn't do anything to anyone.

Down there we would be stuck. Down there we would all end up dead.