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xvi. the five-year secret

โ—‘ โ”โ”โ”โ”โ” โ–ฃ โ”โ”โ”โ”โ” โ—

"This is all those Dumbledores' fault. And that Potter boy too!" Aunt Muriel grumbled once more at breakfast, making all the Weasleys roll their eyes at how she was treating them.

It had been weeks since then, and Ginny, Fred and George, Arthur and Molly had been staying at Aunt Muriel's house since it was the only safe place left. They couldn't stay at Shell Cottage because Deanna, Harry, Hermione and Ron were there along with the others. As much as they all wanted to visit, Bill said they couldn't. Apparently, the four were planning something that had to do with the mission Dumbledore gave them.

But on the bright side, Eleanor and Luna were coming with Bill to visit so that was definitely a reason why Ginny brightened up for the first time in weeks. She really missed her... her Jemina and that was why she had been down for a long time. So, it was definitely a good thing that Luna and Eleanor were coming there.

"Hey, Mum, I'll get ready since Luna and Elly are coming." Ginny stood up and excused herself, tired of hearing her Aunt Muriel's voice.

"Okay, love." Molly smiled at her, and Ginny quickly went up to her room to take a bath and dress up. Finally, something good was coming after a long time of being cooped up in the house with Aunt Muriel of all people. She was grateful that she was safe with her family, but she couldn't help but think her aunt should at least open her eyes to the truth that was being laid out in front of her.

Once she was done, Ginny caught sight of the mittens and the scarf Jemina knitted for her and grinned softly, wrapping the scarf around her neck and breathing in the scent of Jemina. She forced the Hufflepuff to wear it the entire week before the Easter break, saying she would miss her during the break. And she thought it was a great decision because Jemina's scent was keeping her sane despite the loneliness and longing she felt.

There were knocks at the door all of a sudden that made Ginny grin. She rushed to the door and opened it, revealing the faces of her two smiling friends and her older brother. "Bill! Luna, El!"

"Hey, Gin." Bill hugged Ginny and chuckled when the three girls hugged each other tight, squealing and happy that they were with each other again. "I'll leave you three to it."

Bill then left the room and closed the door, leaving the three friends alone.

"You guys are okay." Ginny looked at them with a soft gaze, glad they were back in a safe place.

"Of course, we are." Eleanor grinned at them. "Those punks couldn't even counter our spells. Right, Luna?"

"I most certainly agree, El." Luna played along with Eleanor, making the three of them laugh once more before they settled down inside the room. Luna looked at Ginny and smiled when she noticed the familiar scarf. "Wearing a scarf inside the room, Gin?"

Ginny's eyes widened when she realized she was still wearing the scarf. "Y-Yeah. It's a little cold, don't you think? So, what happened with you guys?"

Despite noticing the obvious that Ginny was trying to change the topic, Eleanor and Luna decided not to pay attention to it and talked about what happened with their lives so far. How Eleanor escaped the Death Eaters and ran into Bill, how Luna was captured and kept in the Malfoy Manor and how Deanna, Harry, Ron and Hermione rescued her.

The Weasley let the grin spread on her face when she heard how Ron and Eleanor were finally together. It was about time! Everybody was frustrated, seeing them be oblivious and slow when it was all so obvious that they liked each other.

"And you, Ginny?" Luna asked with a teasing tone. "Is there anything we should know?"

While Ginny's face turned as red as her hair, Eleanor still had no idea what they were talking about. She looked between the two and the scarf around Ginny's neck. Then, she recognized the unique pattern of knitting and grinned as well. "I think I know who knitted that."

Great, even Eleanor was teasing her now. Seeing the two of them smiling at her like they wouldn't let her be at peace if she didn't tell them the truth, Ginny could only sigh before she told them the story about her and Jemina. There were a lot of pauses and breaks in between though because of how the two girls would grin and tease her and make Ginny blush like a tomato.

"And the last time we saw each other was before the Easter Break." Ginny now had a frown on her face, missing Jemina dearly.

Luna smiled softly at Ginny and squeezed her hand. "Oh, Gin, don't you worry. Hopefully, Deanna, Harry, Ron and Hermione will succeed with whatever they are planning and finish the war."

"And like you said, Jemina will be waiting for you." Eleanor said in a comforting tone. "She's been waiting since our first year so I know she will wait for you, don't worry."

"Oh, yeah, about that." Ginny suddenly remembered. "What do you mean that she's been waiting since first year?"

"Don't you know?" Eleanor asked in a surprised tone. "You defended her from the Slytherins before and she gave you a Valentine in your first year. That's how Jem fell in love with you."

Ginny's mouth fell open in shock, not knowing that. Then, she remembered it, the little girl she defended from Crabbe and Goyle back then. The sweet valentine she received but never knew who sent it. That was Jemina?

"Luna, Eleanor, it's time to go." Bill called out from below.

The Weasley finally got back to her senses and smiled at Luna and Eleanor. "I-I'll see you soon, you two. Thank you."

Luna and Eleanor hugged her back just as tight before bidding goodbye to Ginny who was left in her room. Ginny went to the box of her things and looked for the valentine she kept even after all these years. She smiled when she saw it and opened it, her heart soaring when she realized it did match Jemina's penmanship.

You with red hair and brown eyes

Seemingly an angel in disguise

Perhaps, I could say this in person next time

I am grateful to have met you in this lifetime

Ginny held the letter to her heart that was beating quickly and grinned widely. Jemina Nightingale, the love of her life. She was surely going to say those three words right away the next time she saw her.

Just a little more waiting for both of them...

โ—‘ โ”โ”โ”โ”โ” โ–ฃ โ”โ”โ”โ”โ” โ—

"Quick in here." Jemina whispered as she and Neville rushed the unconscious Noah to the bed in the Room of Requirement.

As they and surprisingly all the members of the DA agreed to continue fighting, they had been doing as they had always done. Standing up to the Carrows and Snape, refusing to do the Cruciatus Curse and other curses during class and even freeing the others from the unjust detentions.

However, Noah got unlucky and was caught freeing one of the first years by the Carrows. So, they tortured him like they had done to Jemina before. It was the first time something this bad happened in months. There were only detentions and the usual callouts, but the torture was something that didn't happen that much. It was a good thing Jemina and Neville were notified by the first year he freed.

"Ask Aberforth for some supplies." Jemina told Neville who nodded as the Hufflepuff started casting the Healing Spell on Noah. "Cicatrize. Cicatrize. Cicatrize."

The wounds were slowly healing, but the more severe ones were still there. Jemina couldn't help but feel guilty. There were a lot of people getting hurt by their cause... Now, her friend got hurt to the point that he was on the brink of death. They should have known better than to blindly push through. As much as it hurt Jemina to say it, they needed to stop.

"I've got it, Jem." Neville finally arrived and had the Dittany in his hands. "I'll take over."

Jemina nodded and stood up, letting Neville stay beside Noah and take care of the more severe wounds. She wondered if she should open up what she was thinking of.

Neville noticed how Jemina looked conflicted and spoke up, knowing that she was probably thinking the same as he was. "Do you think that too? That we should stop?"

The Hufflepuff wasn't surprised anymore that Neville knew what she was thinking of. Spending the last few months with each other made them really close to the point that they could almost read each other's minds. The two of them stared at the ground in silence. It was one thing to have themselves tortured but their friends...

"No."

Neville and Jemina jumped in surprise, turning to Noah who had already woken up.

"Noah." Jemina knelt down on Noah's other side, seeing her friend cough and groan in pain. "Are you alright?"

"I am now, thanks to you two." Noah whispered weakly, trying to sit up but Neville and Jemina pushed him down.

"You need to rest, Noah." Neville said worriedly. "If the first year didn't run and tell us what happened, who knows what could've happened to you?"

"Hey, I am a Nosebuster." Noah smiled at them, finally sitting up despite their protests. "I want to fight as much as you guys so you can't stop me."

"But you got hurt." Jemina frowned at him.

"Now, you know how it felt for us every time you get tortured." Noah shot back at her, making Jemina sigh as she met Noah's gaze.

"Let's do this." Neville finally spoke up, catching their attention. "Let's call for an emergency meeting and take a vote. The DA needs to decide on this a whole. Do you agree with that?"

"Yeah." Jemina and Noah mumbled, knowing it was the best thing to do now.

Neville made the usual message on their coins that grew warm in their pockets before they let silence consume the room. It was a tense atmosphere because of their conflicts in opinions.

"Hi โ€“ " Seamus who was first to arrive cut himself off when he noticed the tense silence in the room. He kept quiet and sat down, and soon, the Room of Requirement was filled with the members of the DA who were all silent because of the atmosphere. They wondered what happened between their three leaders.

"Good evening. We called a meeting today to talk about the activities of the DA." Neville started off then glanced at Jemina who was sitting down on the floor and Noah who was sitting on his bed. "Some of us are concerned that we may get hurt if we continue this fight while others wanted to continue it despite the possible dangers."

They all went silent at that, pondering what Neville was saying. Each side had their points, but they had no idea which one they wanted to do. They all wanted to fight, but they didn't want to die either.

"So, let's take a vote." Neville continued with a smile. "I propose 3 choices: 1, completely stop this." He paused to look at their reactions and saw them all frowning, making him smile.

"2, continue on as we've been doing." His smile grew wider when he saw their faces looking brighter compared to a while ago. He felt sorry to Jemina, but it seemed like she was losing this one. "And 3, continue the fight but let's scale it down a little. We'll continue fighting for what we believe in. However, let's not do anything risky such as cursing them in their faces and doing things that could aggravate them. What do you guys think?"

Murmurs burst throughout the room as everyone discussed which was the best option going forward. Neville turned around and saw Noah grinning victoriously at Jemina who could only let out a sigh. "Well, Jem, we've already started. The only thing we can do is see this through to the end. We'll all get hurt, but that's why we have each other, right?"

Jemina could only sigh and nod, making both Neville and Noah grin before the former turned back to the others. "Let's take a vote. Who wants to do option 1?"

As expected, nobody raised their hands.

"Option 2?"

There were about 4 hands raised in the air that made Neville nod. "Alright, Option 3?"

And almost everyone raised their hands including Jemina, Neville and Noah. The Gryffindor who led them grinned widely and nodded. "It's settled then. We'll continue on but keep it quiet so that no one gets hurt like this anymore. Try convincing more people to join and as much as possible, don't piss the Carrows off."

Everyone, even Jemina, was now smiling, all of them proud of how brave they have become. Neville raised his fist and grinned. "Let's fight until the end!"

Cheers came around the room and Jemina was pulled into a hug by Noah and Neville, knowing that they weren't alone and that they were taking this fight until the end with the others. For the greater good, for the people they've lost, for the people who continued to fight, it was all for them.

โ—‘ โ”โ”โ”โ”โ” โ–ฃ โ”โ”โ”โ”โ” โ—

โ—‘ โ”โ”โ”โ”โ” โ–ฃ โ”โ”โ”โ”โ” โ—

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