This was not Ginny's imagination.
In truth, Hogwarts was now in a terrible state where people could leave, but no one could enter.
Leaving was allowed, of course, but coming in was not.
More precisely, anything that wanted to enter Hogwarts had to pass through layer after layer of inspections before it even had a chance of getting into the school.
A chance.
The reason for that was simple. The wizard who decided whether someone or something could enter Hogwarts was not the current Acting Headmistress, Minerva McGonagall.
Instead... it was the Ministry of Magic, which had recently undergone a personnel change.
In fact, the fact that professors and students who sensed something was wrong were still able to leave the school was already the result of Minerva McGonagall's efforts. Otherwise, none of them would have had any hope of leaving Hogwarts at all.
Interestingly, shortly after the new Minister of Magic took office, the Dementors, whose contact had previously been cut off, once again came under the Ministry's control.
Of course, not many people knew about that yet.
The reason Draco knew was mainly because of the information Fleur Delacour had sent in.
As for how Draco was still able to contact the outside world, that was thanks to the Marauder's Map. Without it, even this last remaining line of communication would have been severed.
Because on that map, there was a secret passage that led quietly to Hogsmeade.
And it was through that secret passage that Draco had gotten in touch with Fleur outside the school.
...
After glancing with a frown at Luna, who was staring blankly up at the ceiling, Ginny pressed her lips together and looked at Draco, who did not seem to be joking.
The red-haired witch spoke with some difficulty. "You're saying... the Ministry of Magic has already been taken over by Death Eaters?"
"Mm. Unless something unexpected happened."
"And... the new Minister of Magic in The Daily Prophet is actually that person's puppet."
"That's right."
"..."
Do you really think I'm going to believe that?
The words were already on the tip of Ginny's tongue, but when she saw that Draco's face held no trace of a smile, she forced them back down.
If she had not once gone through a life-or-death battle alongside Draco, Ginny might really have scoffed at what he said.
The Ministry of Magic fell just like that?
Even if that person was Voldemort.
Even if Cornelius Fudge was an utter fool...
Fine. When she thought about it that way, it did not seem completely impossible.
In any case, although it sounded rather unbelievable, Ginny accepted it almost immediately.
"So... that's why the members of the Order of the Phoenix, Harry, and the others are being wanted by the Ministry? I thought..."
"You thought that with Dumbledore dead, the Ministry couldn't wait to deal with all of you?"
"Yeah. But I didn't expect that person to be behind it."
"That's what makes him clever. Maybe a few people can see through it, but in this world, there are still many who can't see the truth. And that isn't their fault. They're simply standing in different places, at different heights."
It was the first time Ginny had seen Draco speak about something so seriously. The anxiety she had felt moments ago suddenly, inexplicably settled down.
The strong sense of security coming from him left her head a little dazed, and her body even leaned unconsciously in Draco's direction. It reminded her of the time she had sat with him on a Broomstick.
Back then, Draco had given her the same reliable feeling.
Maybe with Draco at Hogwarts, she really did not need to worry about anything at all.
Ginny could not help beginning to think that.
...
Unlike Ginny, who had started acting lovestruck... or rather, had started staring blankly at Draco, Luna, who seemed to be spacing out beside her, had actually been deeply shaken by Draco's words.
Her ethereal eyes, impossible to read as usual, were now moving constantly, making her look especially odd and mischievous.
To be honest, Luna did not really care about what had happened to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. What she was worried about was her father's safety.
Ever since that day, Draco had introduced her father to the leader of the pure blood noble families, Lucius Malfoy.
Yes.
Mr. Lovegood, who had long since sensed that something was wrong and recognized the situation before him, had not only revealed everything about the Deathly Hallows, but had also taken the initiative to seek protection from the force standing behind Draco.
He had not gone to Dumbledore. Instead, he had chosen Lucius Malfoy.
Judging by the result, Mr. Lovegood possessed the same extraordinary intuition as Luna.
Noticing the look Luna quietly cast his way, Draco shook his head and explained, "No news is actually the best news, isn't it?"
"Mm... you're right."
The cryptic exchange between the two of them made Ginny frown, feeling as if she were the outsider here.
In fact, she had indeed been present at the time, but she truly had no idea what sort of deal Draco and Mr. Lovegood had made.
The only thing she knew about was that strange symbol.
Just as Ginny raised an eyebrow and was about to try getting something out of Luna, the rightful one... no, Pansy and the others, who had only just appeared for some unknown reason, suddenly arrived beside them.
"Ginny? What are you doing here?"
"Hermione?"
For some reason, when Ginny faced Hermione at that moment, a strange sense of guilt suddenly rose in her heart.
It was as if she had been caught red-handed doing something wrong.