The Seventh Year

The Gryffindor Sword

Ginny sat in the corner and waited for Neville's signal. His eyes darted back-and-forth from the Gargoyle Corridor and Luna at the Great Hall entrance. 

The day before, they spied on Snape throughout the evening after their classes. He followed the same schedule as Sunday, excluding a meeting with Amycus Carrow. 

He seemed to eat in a short amount of time before returning to his office. It was almost like he couldn't stay out of his office for long.  Ginny suspected he was hiding something, and she suggested they find out what when they grab the sword. Neville found this idea preposterous and told her absolutely not. The two fought for almost half an hour over it before Luna broke the fight up. 

Luna thought they wouldn't be ready to grab the sword after only two days of scouting out Snape, but then Neville convinced her nothing would happen, and she didn't have to help if she didn't want to. 

Eventually, she agreed to continue helping, but only if she could be the lookout. The plan was settled. Luna would stand outside Snape's office, Seamus would distract Snape, and Neville and Ginny would swiftly run in and get out with the sword before anyone noticed. 

She saw Neville's signal; he was sprinting down the corridor. "Lily," she said, and the moving staircase appeared. Neville made it up the stairs just before they disappeared. 

"Brilliant," he said, taking heaving. breaths. "Now, let's grab the sword and leave." Ginny nodded, and they opened the door to the office. 

The paintings on the wall stirred, and she heard the same voice that told Snape to turn her over to the Carrows. "What the devil are you children doing in Headmaster Snape's office?" The wizard had black hair, thin eyebrows, and a pointed beard. Ginny would call him clever-looking if he weren't so rude. 

"None of your business," she snapped back. The wizard looked taken aback. As she headed toward the glass case with the Gryffindor Sword, he cleared his throat.

"My apologies, my dear," he said sarcastically, "I'm Phineas Nigellus Black. And you two are?"

Ginny continued attempting to break the sword out of its case, so Phineas turned to Neville. 

"Erm, I'm Neville, this is, er, Ginny. If you'll excuse me, I've got to help." He turned away and tried to open the glass. It wouldn't budge. "Hey, Gin, stand back." She took about five steps back when Neville motioned for her to move back more.

"Diffindo," he firmly said. The glass shattered, and Ginny lunged for the sword. 

Once the hilt was in her grasp, she reached for her wand and said, "Reparo." Glass shards flew through the air. The cabinet repaired itself, and Ginny and Neville turned to the door. 

As they headed out, Phineas Nigellus said, "Better hurry. I've heard he's almost returned." He laughed malevolently. His laughter faded the further they went from the room. 

The moving staircase appeared as though it sensed their presence, and they began to run down the steps hurriedly. They were almost at the bottom when Ginny bumped hard into a black-cloaked man. 

"Not. So. Fast." It was Snape. He held Luna and Seamus by the collars of their shirts. "Come with me." He pushed past them and made his way up the stairs. Ginny slowly tried to step down the stairs. Without turning around, Snape said, "Don't think about it Ms Weasley." At that comment, Ginny silently followed.

When they reached the top of the stairs, Snape let Luna's and Seamus' collars go. The moving stairs disappeared behind them, so they had no choice but to continue following him. 

As they re-entered the room, Phineas Nigellus looked pleased. "Ah, Snape. I see you've found the thieves. I would've told you myself if they had gotten away with it."