A New Beginning (Sequel to A Different Beginning)

Chapter Four - Back to School with Secrets and Warnings

The last few days of summer had gone by fast and now it was time to return to their final year at school. Harry stood holding Lizzy in his arms in Lyra's bedroom as he watched his father try to get Lyra dressed and ready. He was working at braiding her hair and he was really struggling with it.

"Da, why don't you just use a spell?"

James snorted. "Do you think I actually know any spells to braid hair?"

Harry grinned. "You could. How am I supposed to know what you do?"

James gave him a dirty look and he grinned as Foolish stepped into the room. "Hey boy, come here to visit Lyra?"

Foolish seemed to nod and made himself comfortable on Lyra's bed. He was getting old. He was almost thirteen years old now and had spent most of the summer in someone's bed.

Lyra smiled at him and scratched his ear. "Hi, Foolish."

Harry grinned. "He's been quiet the last few years."

James glanced at the dog and nodded. "He's getting old, Harry. He keeps to himself most of the time. I think Lyra might be good for him though. She gets him playing a bit."

He nodded. "Yeah."

James smiled at him. "He's got a few years left in him, Harry, don't worry."

Harry grinned at that and kissed the top of Lizzy's head. "Where's Mum anyway?"

"She's talking to Lexy and Tonks about something ... Petunia, I think. She's probably telling them to keep an eye on their husbands, as she knows that they will be coming with me when I go to bash Vernon's face in."

Harry sighed. He couldn't say that he blamed his father, but at the same time, he just wanted them to go away. "I agree with Mum on this, Da. I mean, I know that he deserves it. He's a bas - er prat and he did a terrible thing, but I just ... I would much rather that they just stay out of our lives all together."

James shrugged as he finished with Lyra and his eyes' met his son's. "I don't care. He ... I can't believe she never told me what he did. He's seriously a dead man. I don't want them in our lives either but ... I can't just let this go."

Harry nodded as he watched Lyra move to look at herself in the mirror, as if she was approving her father's work. "I just think that it will cause more problems. We don't need them in our life."

"I know that ... but I can't not do anything, Harry." James explained. "I just can't."

"I get that. So how are we getting to King's Cross?" Harry asked, deciding that it was best to change the subject.

"Portkey straight to the station. Dumbledore seems to think it's the safest bet at the moment." James replied.

Harry nodded. "Alright."

"Da, my head looks funny." Lyra replied, making Harry laugh.

James sighed. "Daddy tried princess, I think you better have mummy fix your hair."

Lyra nodded. "Yeah, you're bad at it."

She hurried out of the room and Harry smirked at him. "Good thing I wasn't a girl."

James rolled his eyes. "Hey, I'll learn eventually! Now come on; let's head downstairs. We've got to get everyone together for the portkey."

Harry nodded and followed his father downstairs. But he couldn't help but wonder if confronting Vernon Dursley after so many years would only cause more problems in the end.

**********

Seamus fidgeted impatiently from his seat on the train. He hadn't gotten to see Lavender all summer since she had gone on vacation and he missed her terribly. He kept glancing out the window, hoping to catch a glimpse of her.

"Looking for me?" Lavender asked, grinning when Seamus turned around and his face lit up

"Damn straight!" He pulled her down into his lap and brushed her hair back. "I missed you."

She smiled and cupped his face in her hands. "I missed you, too." Then she leaned in to kiss him softly.

"I really, really missed you. How was your trip?" Seamus asked, cuddling her closer on his lap.

Lavender shrugged. "Pretty good. I got to do lots of shopping."

He laughed. "That can't be good. You and shopping is a dangerous thing."

She snuggled a bit in his lap and cupped his face again. "It was good. My Uncle Sam likes to spoil me. He's a muggle and basically gives me free reign over his credit card."

Seamus laughed. "Big trouble then."

She smiled. "Possibly. So are you going to kiss me at some point? Or do I have to initiate again?"

Seamus grinned. "I was thinking about it."

His hands slid around her waist and down to cup her bum. Lavender's eyebrows rose slightly and he moved his hands back to her hips.

"Nice try, Mr. Finnigan."

"Hey, a guy's got to cop a feel when he can," he replied.

Lavender laughed. "I really did miss you."

Seamus grinned and pulled her closer, tilting his forehead down to hers. "Good." Then he gently brought his lips down to meet hers.

Lavender slipped her arms around his neck and leaned into him, leaned into the kiss. He had always been the one that she had clung to. Seamus had, unknowingly, always helped her out with warm hugs and sweet words and now she knew that she could take advantage of those moments since they were dating. Now she had a reason to cuddle. She needed those moments. Parvati knew that and always made sure to have a spectacular girls' night the first night back. Lavender needed a break and some fun so that she could push the memories of her summer behind her. So that she could forget why it was that she never wanted to go home; why she avoided her parents; why she clung to the moments when her Uncle Sam spoiled her, knowing it was the only thing he could do; why she avoided her father

Seamus could never find out about that.

Parvati knowing was different, after all. A best friend ... and she had seen first hand that summer three years ago when she had decided to drop by and visit unexpectedly.

Lavender closed her eyes and moved her hands down Seamus' chest, feeling his heartbeat under her hands. It didn't matter, she thought as she smiled at him. She would be eighteen on October tenth and then she would no longer be under his thumb. That was all that mattered.

She closed her mind from the thoughts and instead lost herself in Seamus and the feel of his lips on hers.

******

Blaise smiled at Daphne as she closed the compartment doors on the train and slid into his lap. They had spent most of the summer together but he still wanted to spend every waking moment with her. He wanted to marry her. His arms moved around her waist and she cuddled close as he remembered the weekend, only six weeks before, when they had managed to sneak off to a cottage in the country. They had spent the entire weekend making love.

Daphne grinned at him. "I missed you."

"Me too. Longest two weeks of my life," he murmured as he began to nibble at her neck.

She nodded. It had been the longest two weeks of her life. She didn't know how she was going to tell him the news. Her parents had flipped naturally, but she supposed she knew that was coming. It didn't make having to tell Blaise any easier.

"Did you get my owl?"

Blaise nodded as he moved up to nibble along her ear. "I did. You said that you needed to talk to me about something very important." He pulled back to look at her. "What's up, Daph?"

Daphne sighed and licked her lips, her eyes falling down to where he was holding her hands. "Well, something rather large actually."

"What?" He asked, moving her hand to his lips for a kiss. "Honey, you can tell me anything."

"I think we should get married, as soon as possible."

Blaise glanced at his fiancée in surprise. "Well, that's sudden. Why?"

Daphne shrugged. "Let's get married this weekend, Blaise. I'm sure Dumbledore won't have a problem marrying us or anything. You know that he carries the license to do so."

"Daph, you know that I want to marry you as soon as I can, but why the sudden push? You told me that you wanted to finish school first?"

"I'm pregnant."

Blaise's eyes widened. "Oh."

"Oh?" Daphne exclaimed. "OH! That's all you can say!"

He shrugged. "Daph, I was hardly expecting -"

"And you think I was?"

Blaise shook his head. "Baby, no I ... bloody hell. When are you, you know?"

Daphne sighed. "April, middle of the month, I suppose."

He nodded and let out a deep breath. "You're positive?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I had a healer check me out."

Blaise took another deep breath. "I love you, Daphne."

Tears welled up in her eyes and she wrapped her arms around him. "I know. I love you too. But I'm scared, Blaise. I mean, we're only seventeen and we're not even finished school or anything. What if we're not ready?"

Blaise ran his hand up and down her back in a soothing gesture. "Do you want the baby, Daph?"

She nodded. "How could I not?"

"Daphne, we may not be ready yet but we'll make sure we're ready by the time the baby comes. You'll be a great mum."

She smiled and kissed him softly. "Can we get married this weekend?"

Blaise grinned and kissed the tip of her nose. "Count on it."

********

Harry and everyone else arrived on Platform 9 and 3/4s five minutes before the train was set to leave. The complications had mostly been forgetfulness, so that by the time they arrived, everyone managed a quick goodbye, rushing onto the train. Harry held Ginny's hand in his as they found a compartment with Seamus and Lavender in it.

"Hey guys, mind if we come in?" Harry asked.

Seamus grinned at him. "Nah, come on in and make yourselves comfortable."

Harry levitated his and Ginny's trunks up over top and took a seat, pulling Ginny down into his lap. "So how was your guys' summer?"

Lavender smiled. "Mine was good. I went on a trip to Italy with my Uncle Sam."

"Wow," Ginny replied. "I bet it was beautiful, right?"

Lavender nodded. "Incredibly. There were lots of cute guys to flirt with too." She laughed when Seamus patted her bum playfully. "Of course, I had to tell them that I was taken back home. And the clothes, Ginny ... they were beautiful! I bought so much! You'll have to come up to our dorm tonight and join in our Girls' Night so you can see."

"Girls' Night?" Seamus asked, his eyes widening. "Is that where you guys parade around half-naked and have pillow fights? You know, drink alcohol and do sexy things?"

Lavender rolled her eyes. "You keep dreaming, sweetie."

Harry laughed. "So what do you do at a Girls' Night?"

Ginny grinned and turned to kiss him softly. "That's for blokes like you to dream about."

They all looked up when Blaise and Daphne walked in.

"Hey Zabini, how was your summer?" Harry asked.

Blaise grinned and pulled Daphne down into his lap. "It was good. I spent most of the time with Daph here."

Daphne nodded. "Yeah, it was good."

Ginny smiled warmly at Daphne. "Are you two okay? You seem a bit ... off?" She reached out to take Daphne's hands and gasped at the storm of emotions that ripped through her. Her eyes widened. "Daphne!"

Daphne realized what had happened, then she sighed. "We're going to ask Dumbledore to marry us on the weekend."

Seamus glanced back and forth from Ginny to Daphne, a bewildered look on his face. "What just happened?"

The compartment door opened up and Draco stepped in with Delilah. "Hey, everyone. We got distracted by a snogging Longbottom and Lovegood."

"Hey!" Neville exclaimed, coming up behind them with Luna's hand in his. "We were only snogging for a moment."

Everyone laughed as Draco, Delilah, Neville, and Luna made themselves comfortable in the compartment.

Ginny was still staring at Daphne and Blaise. "I won't say anything but I just ... how is this going to work?"

Daphne's eyes met Blaise's and she shrugged. "We'll figure it out after we talk to Dumbledore."

Harry nodded at them. "What's going on?"

Blaise sighed and held his fiancée closer. "Daph and I are going to have a baby."

The entire compartment was silent as Draco sighed. "Wow, I missed something."

The compartment door slid open again as Colin and Demelza stepped inside holding hands.

Demelza smiled. "Hello, everyone."

Colin nodded. "Yeah, hi."

Ted and Dana came up behind them. "Hey, we wondered where everyone ran off to."

Harry nodded and magically expanded the compartment. "It was getting a little crowded in here."

Ted grinned. "A bit yeah." He took a seat, pulling Dana down into his lap. "So, it looks like we walked in on something big here."

Demelza nodded. "Is everything alright?"

Daphne smiled. "It's fine. Blaise and I just announced that were going to ask Dumbledore to marry us on the weekend, rather then wait."

Colin grinned. "That's great! Congratulations! I'd love to take pictures for you, if you would like?"

"That would be great. Thanks Colin," Blaise supplied.

Ron and Hermione slipped inside the compartment to place some of their belongings down. Ron grinned. "Wow, crowded in here."

Hermione smiled. "How was everyone's summer?"

Everyone smiled and managed to say good.

She grinned. "Good to know. Well, Ron and I have to be going to run the prefect's meeting. We'll meet you back here later."

Draco wrinkled his nose as he stood up. "Right, meeting, forgot."

Ron grinned. "Don't worry mate, I'll hex Pansy for you."

"RONALD BILIUS WEASLEY, YOU MOST CERTAINLY WILL NOT! YOU'RE THE HEAD BOY!" Hermione exclaimed.

Ron winced. "Right, forgot about that."

Harry grinned. "Lots of responsibility, mate."

Ron grumbled. "Why the hell did Dumbledore pick me?"

Seamus laughed. "Um ... good question."

Everyone laughed as Draco, Ron, and Hermione left the room.

Seamus grinned. "Alright, so let's get back to this Girls' Night thing, are you guys going to be in like sexy undergarments and things? Will there be pictures?"

Lavender rolled her eyes. "No and no."

Ginny laughed. "Seamus, it's called a girls' night for a reason. No boys allowed."

"How else would we talk about them?" Demelza asked.

"Wow, wow, wow," Colin exclaimed. "You talk about us? What do you say?"

Luna grinned mischievously. "Oh you know, size and technique."

Every guy in the room's jaw dropped open.

"Wh-what?" Seamus exclaimed. "You talk about stuff like that?"

Dana rolled her eyes. "And you don't?"

"No, we don't." Harry replied.

Seamus snorted. "Dean does."

As if he had known about the conversation, the compartment door opened and Dean stood there with Parvati. "Hey, all."

Parvati grinned and took a seat next to Lavender. "What are you all talking about?"

"You," Seamus supplied. "As in Dean and how he likes to brag."

Dean feigned looking shocked. "What? Okay, yeah, I brag a lot. What about it?"

Parvati rolled her eyes. "Don't I know it! We break up and he's with a different girl constantly."

Dean shrugged and kissed her hand. "Quit breaking my heart then, love."

Lavender laughed. "I don't even want to pretend to understand your relationship."

Seamus shrugged. He didn't even quite understand it. Dean and Parvati had been a couple since fifth year. They would shag like rabbits and then have a huge blow out, breaking up. Dean would be dating tons of other girls until Parvati forgave him and then they couldn't keep their hands off of each other all over again. "Neither do I."

As conversations changed to summer events, Parvati turned to Lavender. "How was your summer?"

Lavender shrugged. "It was alright. Italy was fun."

Parvati glared at her. "Don't Lave, I'm your best and I'm not going to take any BS from you."

She sighed and slid off of Seamus' lap, tugging on Parvati's hand and leaving the compartment. They locked themselves in the luggage compartment before she spoke.

"It was fine really. I managed alright."

Parvati rolled her eyes. "Listen, I know that you won't tell Seamus. But honestly, you and he have been close since third year. He knows everything, except this. Would you even have told me if I hadn't shown up at your house that summer?"

Lavender stared down at her hands and shrugged. "No."

Parvati reached out and grabbed her arm, squeezing gently when Lavender yelped she glared at her. "I'm tired of the lies, Lavender. If you don't tell Seamus, I will."

Lavender shook her head. "Vat, no please! You promised that you wouldn't tell anyone! I'll be eighteen in 2 months and ... I'm not going back! Not ever!"

Parvati sighed. "He's going to see the marks, Lave; I know you've got them. I don't understand why you went back anyway, you've been legal for a year. Just because your mother is a muggle ..."

Lavender shrugged and tugged at the long sleeves she wore. "It doesn't matter ... it will be the same as always. They'll be gone in a week. I can keep him at bay until then."

"Did he tell you that you had to pay for room and board again?" Parvati asked.

"It doesn't matter. I escaped through the window both times and the third time I hit him, the bloke, with ... it doesn't matter."

Parvati sighed as she watched her friend hurry out of the room. It did matter, she just wished that there was something she could do about it.

Lavender headed back to the compartment and snuggled back into Seamus' lap. He grinned at her and kissed her softly. "Hey, where did you go?"

"Girl talk." She replied, kissing him again before she turned back to everyone in the room.

Parvati came into the compartment and Lavender could feel her glare but she ignored it. She couldn't tell Seamus, and that was that.

********

Ginny had noticed the exchange between Lavender and Parvati and she wondered on it. They had always been the same the first week of school. Arguing about something that always made the normally happy and ditzy Lavender withdrawn but within a few days she always bounced back.

"I wonder what's up with Lavender and Parvati," she asked Harry mentally.

Harry heard it and wondered on it. "No idea. I didn't notice anything."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Big surprise." She kissed him and he grinned at her.

"Harry, what do you think?" Dean asked.

"Sorry, I didn't catch that," Harry replied.

Blaise grinned. "Dean wants to know what you think of having meetings of the DA strictly for Order members."

Harry shrugged. "I'm not following you."

"Well, the DA is still going on, but I think that the group of us that are in the Order should be learning a bit more of the difficult spells. I mean, we should be separated a bit." Dean suggested.

Harry nodded. "Well, you basically are but yeah I know what you mean. Sirius mentioned that to me this summer. We'll work it out once school gets going."

Delilah smiled. "School ... it should be interesting."

Ginny nodded. "We'll be fine, Del; it will be hard, though."

"What will be hard?" Colin asked, his eyes darting back between them.

"Colin, Dumbledore asked Delilah and I to skip sixth year. Our grades were so good that he thinks sixth year won't be enough of a challenge. Plus there's the bonus of Harry and Draco being in seventh year." Ginny explained.

Parvati grinned. "Ooo, moving up with your honeys, very nice."

Colin was staring at her in surprise. "You're just mentioning this now!"

Ginny sighed. "Colin, I only just found out less then two days ago!"

He sighed. "I'm going to miss you. Who's going to help me out in class?"

She smiled. "Me of course. I just won't be in those classes with you."

Harry nodded. "Her grades were incredible Colin. Sixth year would have been a joke for her. Delilah too. Dumbledore made the right decision here."

"Wow," Demelza said. "I don't even know ... does that mean your graduating this year?"

Ginny nodded. "It does. It will be a tough year."

"More so than we thought," Hermione replied from the doorway, her face pale.

Ron and Draco nudged her through, and Ron pulled her down into his lap.

"What happened?" Harry asked, his eyes darting back and forth between his friends.

Draco sighed. "Serious rules this year mostly and there's been another death."

"Who?" Everyone asked at once.

Hermione closed her eyes. "Hannah. Harry, she didn't show up for the prefects meeting. We asked Ernie and he didn't know. Then just as the meeting was ending ..."

"We got an owl from Dumbledore," Ron finished. "Her home was attacked this morning by Death Eaters and the entire family was murdered."

"Killed in their beds." Draco replied. "We don't know the details, but from what the owl from Dumbledore said; they didn't even wake up."

The compartment was silent.

After about five minutes Harry spoke up. "Do you ... do you know why she was killed?"

Hermione shook her head no, tears in her eyes. "No, there wasn't a reason."

Harry nodded. It was all so unreal. Logically he knew that they weren't lying to him and that Hannah was dead but ... she had been his first girlfriend. His first kiss. He was never going to forget the excitement when she had let him touch her and kiss her ...

"Its okay Harry," Ginny murmured mentally. "I liked Hannah, too."

"She was special, Ginny. She was sweet and beautiful and so nice ... I loved her in a friendly, first girlfriend way. I can't believe she's gone."

"We'll make them pay for her death, Harry. We'll all fight for her."

Harry nodded and this time he spoke out loud. "This is war and we're all going to fight for her. For everyone that's been lost."

"Sun Tzu," Colin murmured.

"What?" Harry asked.

"Sun Tzu," Colin said again. "He was a Chinese general and he wrote strategies for war and stuff like that 2500 years before Common Era. His work is well known and I think ... I think you should look at it. Because you were right ... this is a war and its time we all start figuring out how to fight one."

"Why should I look at his work?" Harry asked. "I'm hardly a general."

Colin shrugged. "But you really are. He has some points on war strategies. I did an assignment on him in primary school back before I came to Hogwarts. He was a muggle but ... Harry, just check out his work."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I will."

Ted sighed. "This really cuts close to home. Hannah was always so nice to me. I can't believe she's gone."

Ginny nodded. "Me neither. It seems unreal."

"I'm sure Dumbledore will say something about it at the feast," Harry replied. "Hannah was special."

"You dated her back in forth year didn't you?" Seamus asked.

"Yeah I did." Harry replied. "She was sweet and really wonderful. I needed her those first few months."

Dean nodded. "Yeah, I dated her for a while at the end of forth. She was special, Harry. She was just always alive, with a smile on her face and she was always truly concerned about others."

"She was really talented with a wand." Hermione replied. "She had improved drastically in the DA and she was ready to fight against Voldemort. She was ready to help the world."

"We're all going to miss her." Lavender replied. "She was fun and she was ..." her eyes met Parvati's for a moment. "Kind to me."

No one spoke again for a while.

Blaise spoke up then. "So this may not be the right time for this, but ... Daph and I would like what we told you to be kept a secret?"

Ron looked confused. "What's going on?"

Blaise smiled. "Daphne and I are going to ask Dumbledore to marry us this weekend."

"How would that work?" Hermione asked. "You two are both still in school."

"It's not uncommon," Daphne replied. "Besides, we want get married before ..."

"The baby," Blaise continued. "Daphne and I are going to have a baby, sometime in April."

"Wow," Ron murmured. "Didn't expect that."

Blaise grinned. "Neither did we. Look, we know that we can't keep it a complete secret, but for now ..."

Seamus nodded. "Hey, not a problem, Zabini. Your secret is safe with us."

The rest of the room nodded in consent.

Hermione glanced out the window and sighed. "Come on; we're almost at school, we should start rounding up the first years."

Ron and Draco nodded and followed her out of the compartment.

It was only a few minutes later when the train stopped and Harry sighed. It was time to start seventh year.

********

Harry held Ginny's hand in his as they headed into the castle. He still couldn't believe that Hannah was gone. He felt Ginny squeeze his hand gently and he nodded. He did a quick glance around and then he pulled her into the nearby broom closet.

"Harry James Potter! A broom closet! The feast is just about to start!" Ginny exclaimed.

He nodded and pulled her close so that her head rested against his heart.

Ginny sighed and held him for a moment. She could feel the sadness coming from him. He blamed himself for her death. His emotions were a mix of anger and sadness. "It's not your fault, honey." She stood on her toes to kiss him softly, giving him comfort through her magic when they kissed.

Harry felt the warmth go through him and when she pulled back he sighed and tilted his forehead down to hers. "I know that, logically. But Hannah was ... she can't be dead, Gin."

Ginny stood on her toes, wrapping her arms around his neck and bringing his lips to hers. She knew what he needed. He needed to feel and to remember what it was like to live. She sent warmth and comfort to him again as her lips met his softly, nibbling here and there until he moaned and his tongue met hers. She wrapped her legs around his waist and he pressed her back against the door of the closet, his hands on her behind.

Harry deepened the kiss. He needed it. He needed her. He just wanted to feel, to live, to remember that even through the darkness there was light. Ginny was his light. Her hands were in his hair as she kissed him with such passion that he ached. His body reacted instantly to her touch and to her lips. She murmured his name as his lips moved down her neck. He popped open the first few buttons of her blouse, trailing his lips over the exposed skin and inhaling her scent. She was his everything.

Ginny moaned when his left hand slipped up her kilt to trail over her dragon. His fingers brushed the silk of her knickers and she gasped, holding him closer. She could feel his reaction to their kissing and she knew that they had to stop before it got out of control.

"Harry," she murmured, as he nibbled at her neck.

"I know," he groaned. He kissed her deeply again and then he put her back down onto the ground. "I love you. I love you so much."

Ginny smiled and took his hand in hers. "I love you, too. Now come on, let's go to the feast."

He nodded and leaned down to kiss her again. "Thank you."

She smiled. "You are very welcome."

She quickly made sure that her blouse was fixed and her skirt was alright before she let Harry open the closet door.

He turned to give her a wicked grin. "Coast is clear."

Harry held her hand in his as they headed into the crowd of students still making their way into the Great Hall. They took their seats with Seamus smirking at them.

"You two get lost?"

Dean snorted. "Yeah, in a broom closet."

Ginny blushed. "Oh, sod off."

Harry laughed. "You tell them, Gin." He leaned down to kiss her softly and held her hand in his as they watched the first years approach the head table. McGonagall stood up there with the Sorting Hat. The hall went silent and the hat burst into song.