A New Beginning (Sequel to A Different Beginning)

Chapter Nineteen - Understanding the Prophecies

Lavender was shaking when she stepped up into the boys' dormitory that morning. It was Saturday, and already late into the month of February. Her grip tightened on the letter in her hand as she pushed back Seamus' bed curtains and crawled into the bed with him. He was sleeping soundly, the blankets wrapped up to his chin. She didn't want to disturb him ... but he had to know.

She leaned over him and kissed his cheek, then shook him a little. He groaned and pulled the blankets over his head, causing Lavender to smile.

"Seamus, honey, wake up. I need to talk to you."

Seamus' eyes opened and he gave her a lopsided grin. "Coming to join me?"

Lavender smiled. "No, sorry to dash your hopes." Her smile faded, then and her eyes grew serious, tears welling up in them.

"Hey, I was only joking," he murmured, pulling her down into his arms.

She sniffed softly. "I know. Seamus ... your dad ... he sent this to me this morning." She held out the letter, her hand shaking.

"What is it?"

Tears rolled down her cheeks. "I- I- I don't want to be the one to tell you."

Seamus took the letter from her, dread filling him. He opened it carefully and began to read:

Lavender,

It pains me greatly to write this letter. I know my son well and I know that he will be sleeping away most of the day which is why I am writing it to you. There was ... there was ... an attack in Dublin late last night. Mary-Margaret was helping Mrs. Duffy have her first child. She always did make a good mid-wife. Mrs. Duffy had a beautiful baby girl. When Mary-Margaret insisted that she could walk home alone, the Duffys were so happy about their new daughter, and somewhat thankful for their time alone as a family that they didn't ... Dublin is a safe city.

So we thought.

My Mary-Margaret was attacked last night on the way home. They ... the police told me it was quick but ... she's gone! She's gone, and I don't know what to do. Brenna and Darren are here but ... please, give Seamus this letter. Let him know.

The funeral is going to be on Monday morning. Please, let him know that his family needs him home. You too, honey. You're part of the family now.

Love,
Patrick Finnegan

Seamus' hands were shaking as he put down the letter. He didn't say anything but just stared down at it for a moment. Lavender cuddled closer, her arms wrapping around him tightly.

Lavender wasn't sure what to do. She had read the letter in shock earlier that morning and had dreaded handing it over to him. Now she just held on tightly and hoped that it could offer him some sort of comfort. She ran her hands up his chest gently to cup his face.

"Seamus?"

His arms wrapped around her then and he held on tightly. "It can't ... no."

"You dad wouldn't lie."

"Well, he's lying about this!" Seamus demanded, pushing her away and getting to his feet.

Lavender's eyes moved over his body before she could stop herself. He was wearing nothing but boxers with happy little leprechauns all over them. He was so handsome. She sat up and suddenly she knew what she wanted to do, she knew what she should do to give him the comfort he needed. She stood up and walked over to him, slipping her arms around his waist.

"I love you."

Seamus tilted his forehead down to hers as their hands met. "I know. I love you, too. My mum, she was ... Mam was going to help you plan the wedding."

Tears rolled down Lavender's cheeks. "I know. She'll still help. I have all of the letters with all of her ideas in them."

"It's not the same." He murmured.

Lavender ran her hands over his bare chest to cup his face again. "I know." She stood on her toes and kissed him softly.

Seamus sank into her immediately. He felt numb, completely and utterly numb. When Lavender's lips met his, he could feel; he took advantage of it. His hands raked up her sides, brushing the sides of her breasts and he deepened the kiss. He didn't want to stop. He wanted to keep on kissing and touching her so that he wouldn't have to feel numb anymore.

Lavender could feel the aggression in his body and his lips. He was desperate to feel, to chase away the numbness. She could see it in his eyes, in the lines of his face. At this moment, only she could save him. She wondered if she had realized how soon this moment would be upon her. Her hands were shaking as she removed his hand from her hip and placed it gently on her breast. He wouldn't hurt her, she knew that. When his fingers started to knead she cuddled closer as her trembling hands ran over his back.

This was the moment to do this. It was the right time.

Seamus was simply aching. He could feel Lavender trembling in his arms but she wasn't making any effort of pushing him away. Instead, her hands were roaming over his chest and back as she nibbled along his jaw line. Then she pushed him away for a moment and her eyes met his. Her trembling fingers pulled her sweater over her head and then she unzipped her jeans and stepped out of them.

"Lavender," Seamus breathed, wishing he had pockets to shove his hands into. "Lave, what are you-?"

She stepped towards him and placed her finger over his lips. "It's okay. It will all be alright. I'll make it all be alright. Don't you trust me?" she asked, looking up at him with innocent, yet determined, eyes.

All he could do was nod as she placed his hands on her waist and kissed him again.

She couldn't stop shaking. She was trying to stop, she really was, but she couldn't stop thinking that she was standing in front of Seamus in nothing but her undergarments. She knew what she was doing. She understood exactly where this was heading, but Merlin, she was terrified. The pain would be intense, she knew that and she knew that it would be awful. But she could make up for the awful by taking advantage of the sweet kisses Seamus gave her, the way his hands made her feel when they stroked over her skin.

As soon as she stopped shaking, that's exactly what she was going to do.

Seamus knew what she was doing. She was trembling so much. He knew a great deal of it was from fear. He nibbled gently at her bottom lip before he smiled at her. "I love you, and I promise not to hurt you."

Lavender nodded. "It's okay, I understand."

Seamus shook his head as he continued to undress her. "No, you don't, but you will. Are you sure about this?"

Her hand rested over his heart for a moment and her engagement ring winked back at her. "I trust you."

Seamus picked up her hand, kissing the palm softly, and gently tugged her over to the bed. He picked up his wand off the nightstand and did a quick locking and silencing charm before he did the Contraceptive Charm. He was pretty positive that Lavender wasn't on the potion. She was still trembling when he ran his hand gently over her ribcage.

"What are you afraid of?" He asked.

She shook her head. "I-I don't know."

He leaned down to kiss her bellybutton. "Anything that scares you, I want you to tell me. Anything that you like, or dislike ... please, tell me. I won't hurt you." He ran his hand over her leg softly and he smiled at her. "Do you like that?"

She smiled. "Seamus..."

He shook his head. "No, everything, Lavender." He nibbled gently along her lips and her hands fisted in his hair and he grinned. He knew this was the right moment. She was ready. She just didn't fully realize it yet.

Seamus slid his arms around her and kissed her softly, deepening the kiss and letting his hands slide over her. She cuddled into him, enjoying the feel of his hands. She was so lost in his kisses and his touch that she didn't even notice when he slowly began to remove the rest of her clothing. She lost herself in him.

It was only when he lay her back on the bed that she began to tremble again. He silenced her with a soft kiss and used useless, meaningless words to tell her how much he loved her. The pain hit her and she gasped, but it was over and soon she could feel nothing but Seamus and how much he loved her.

*******

Seamus rolled over, pulling her with him so that she was snuggled up against him. He kissed her forehead and took her hand in his. "Did I hurt you?"

Lavender shook her head silently, cuddling closer. "No."

"I love you."

Lavender nodded and turned to look up at him. "It was kind of wonderful."

He grinned. "Well, what can I say? I'm a very talented man!" He let out a whoosh of breath when her elbow collided with his stomach.

"Seamus."

He smiled and gently brushed her hair from her eyes. "You're okay, then?"

Lavender smiled up at him. "Yeah, never better." Then she reached up and kissed him softly.

*********

Seamus left early Sunday morning and he didn't speak to anyone. Lavender promised to meet him in Ireland on Monday for the funeral, but she thought he deserved to spend the day with his family. Besides, she needed a few moments to herself to think about what had happened the night before. She had ended up spending most of the day in bed with Seamus. She closed her eyes as she remembered the feel of his lips and hands.

Why hadn't it been awful?

She looked up when the dormitory door opened and Ginny stepped inside. "Hey, Lavender, did Seamus leave already?"

Lavender nodded. "Yes. I'm going to meet him there tomorrow. I thought maybe he could do with some time alone with his family."

Ginny nodded. "That makes sense. I still can't believe Mrs. Finnegan is gone! It was such a shock to read about it in The Evening Prophet. I hope Seamus will be alright."

"He will be. It's hard and ... she was so wonderful, Ginny! She was helping me plan the wedding! She had all of these big plans! She was just amazing." Lavender replied. "I was so anxious to get to know her. My mother never was ... it's not fair."

Ginny took a seat on Lavender's bed and pulled her friend close. "I know. Life isn't always fair. People we know die and it's hard, I know that, but it's something that we have to deal with. The war is escalating, Lavender, and until we can get a firmer grip on it ... well, suffer we must."

She nodded, wiping tears from her eyes. "Yeah I ... Ginny, can I talk to you about something?"

Ginny smiled. "Of course, you can talk to me about anything."

Lavender sighed and brushed her hair out of her eyes. "I almost told Vat last night ... she's my best friend, but this ... I just didn't think she would understand. Before you mentioned to me that ... sex and making love were two different things."

Ginny nodded. "They are."

"Seamus and I ... yesterday ... we had sex."

Ginny shook her head. "No, sweetie, you made love."

"What's the difference? I don't understand even what happened. I mean ... he was so and it was ... it wasn't awful."

Ginny smiled. "Lavender, making love isn't awful. It's a wonderful experience if done with the right person. I may not be the best person to ask for this and maybe you should talk to Parvati because rumour has it that she's slept her way around a bit." When Lavender grinned, she continued. "I've only been with Harry. I don't plan to ever be with anyone else. But I do know that making love is wonderful, full of pleasure and unlimited surprises. Sex can be the same, but it's also used in ways it shouldn't be. Death Eaters force sex onto their victims at times, and I think your father did that a lot."

Lavender nodded. "I get that. Seamus promised he wouldn't hurt me, I didn't believe him. I just knew that I would stand the pain to make him happy, as long as he gave me more sweet kisses. But the pain lasted just for a moment and then it was just ..."

"Wonderful," Ginny supplied with a smile.

Lavender nodded. "Yeah. He didn't hurt me any more then those few seconds and he made me ... I liked it."

Ginny laughed. "I'm sure Seamus appreciated that."

"Yeah. It just felt like the right moment. I didn't plan it or anything, but when I gave him that letter ... he needed something, and I knew that. So I just ... he told me it made the numbness go away for a little while. He needed me."

"He always needs you, just like he's going to need you to be there tomorrow, at the funeral."

Lavender nodded. "I will be. I love him, Ginny. Sometimes, it just overwhelms me because it's Seamus, but I love him. I'm going to marry him."

Ginny smiled. "Yeah, you are. And you're going to very happy, don't forget that."

"I won't. Thanks."

Ginny grinned as she stood up. "No problem. I do have a whole lot of homework to catch up on, though. I suggest you talk to Vat and see what she says on the topic."

Lavender laughed. "She'll cheer me on and then want to know what Seamus looks like naked."

Ginny laughed. "I'm sure he's sexy as hell. It's obvious that he's built."

Lavender bit her lip and grinned. "Very built."

Ginny laughed. "See, he's already starting to corrupt you. Parvati will be so proud."

Lavender grinned. "Talk to you later, Ginny." As she watched Ginny leave, she could only grin ... she felt good and she really didn't think she was going to mind letting Seamus corrupt her a bit more.

She grinned at thought and whistled softly to herself as she began to pack her bag for Ireland, a soft, dreamy smile on her face.

***********

King stood in the doorway of his daughter's bedroom, a soft smile on his face. It still made him grin to think of her as his daughter. She was so beautiful and it hurt him to see her eyes so white now. The blindness had spread quickly and he knew Mira couldn't see at all anymore. Her senses had magnified though and her head turned towards the doorway.

"Hey, honey, it's just me."

Mira smiled over at him and his heart softened. She had accepted the fact that he and Leila were going to be her parents without hesitation. She never spoke of her real parents. While it worried him on some level, he also knew that she might be partly traumatized by what happened to them. James and Ian had told him about her crawling through the blood.

King took a seat on the bed and took her hand in his. "What are you doing?"

She shrugged. "I was trying to remember my dream."

"Was it a good dream?"

Mira nodded. "Yes. I was at a circus and there were elephants wearing purple robes with little people dancing on their backs."

King grinned. "Would you like to go to the circus one day? Leila and I can take you there and you can ... you can listen to the sounds?"

Mira shook her head. "What if the bad man is there?"

King pulled her up into his lap, brushing her deep blood red hair out of her eyes. "I wouldn't let him, or any of them, hurt you."

Mira snuggled close into his embrace, breathing in the scent. "I don't want him to hurt you. I like it here."

"Well, it's your home, now." Leila replied from the doorway as she stepped into the room and took a seat on the bed next to them. "What are you two talking about in here? Are you plotting a surprise for me?"

Mira giggled. "No."

King tickled her ribs lightly as she squealed in delight. "No! You don't think we should plan a surprise for Mummy?"

Mira giggled as she held her arms out for Leila. "Mummy, help!"

Leila tugged her into her lap. "Got you." She kissed her forehead and Mira stiffened in her arms.

King's eyebrow rose questioningly and he was about to ask what was wrong when Mira's eyes rolled back into her head and the white of them turned black. Her voice deepened, old, and wise as the words came out:

As the seventh month begins ..."

She came back to herself and sighed, slipping into King's arms and cuddling closer to him. "I don't want to think of the bad man."

King kissed her head and cuddled her close. "You don't have to, honey." He tucked her in and he and Leila left the room as she drifted off to sleep quickly. "What was that about?"

Leila shrugged. "I don't know. Do you think maybe it had something to do with the prophecies she's made?"

King nodded. "That's exactly what I think. Maybe we should get someone over here to talk to her. Dumbledore might be able to make sense of it."

Leila shook her head. "No, not Dumbledore, Ginevra."

"Weasley?"

Leila nodded. "Her empathetic powers are incredible, Kingsley. I think she could get the information out of Mira, and help heal the pain a bit while doing it. Maybe we could begin to make sense of these prophecies then and figure out how it's going to affect the final battle."

"I think that's a great idea. Will you write to her?"

Leila stood on her toes and kissed him softly. "I'll do it right now."

King's eyes moved to his daughter's bedroom door. "The faster, the better."

**********

Ginny headed up to Dumbledore's office the next morning with Leila's letter clutched tightly in her hands. She understood what King and Leila were asking of her but if she was going to be honest with herself, she wasn't sure what she could do. The stuff Mira could see was part of her, it was a huge part of her Seer abilities and she didn't know how she could help.

Dumbledore smiled at her when she stepped into his office. "Ah, Miss Weasley, heading off to see young Mira now?"

Ginny nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Any idea what you're going to do?"

Ginny shook her head. "None at all. How can I get them out of her when even Voldemort couldn't do it?"

Dumbledore smiled now. "Trust, love, compassion, healing ... you'll know what to do, Miss Weasley."

Ginny sighed. "I certainly hope so. Professor, may I ask you something?"

"You just did, but I suppose I can allow another."

Ginny smiled. "It's about Ron. I know that he still hasn't come to talk to you yet, but I was wondering if you understand any of this power that he seems to be feeling. Mira claims he's the phoenix and I understand the power of friendship, I felt it when Ron gave Harry the magic he needed down in the catacombs. But there's still so much we don't know. Do you have any idea?"

Dumbledore sighed. "Alas, I do not know. But I think today, young Mira will give you the answers you seek."

"I hope so. Thank you, sir."

She stepped into the fireplace and came out in the homey flat in downtown London. Leila smiled at her when she came out.

"Hey, how are you doing?"

Ginny shrugged. "I'm doing fine, but to be honest I don't know what I can do to help here."

Leila smiled. "You can help. I know it. Come on, King is just reading her a story."

Ginny followed Leila down the hallway and into Mira's room. The two of them were lying on the ground on a bunch of pillows, Mira's head resting on his shoulder as King's deep voice read the story about the fairy princess who couldn't fly. They looked so cute sitting together like that. She sighed and then smiled down at them.

"Hey, King. Hey, Mira. How are you guys today?"

King smiled. "Hi, Ginny. Mira, you remember Ginny don't you?"

Mira nodded and cuddled closer to King. "Hi."

Ginny sat down on the floor and curled her legs under her. "You don't have to be scared of me Mira. I won't hurt you."

"You're the Flame," she whispered.

Ginny's eyes met King's and he nodded. "Well, sweetie, your mum and I are going to go out and get a few errands done. Ginny's agreed to watch you for a little while so you have someone to play with. Is that alright with you?"

Mira looked like she wanted to argue so Ginny reached out and touched her hand. Mira felt the power and she nodded. "Okay, Daddy."

King and Leila kissed her goodbye before they left the room. Ginny smiled at her.

"You know who I am?"

Mira nodded. "The Flame."

Ginny nodded. "I want to help you, Mira. I know that you get all of these really scary images. It's hard to get rid of them, isn't it?"

Mira nodded slowly and said, "How do you know?"

"I was his prisoner once, too. He didn't hurt me, like he did you. But he did make me do terrible things. He made me kill all the roosters. Then he made me let loose a monster on the school. Some people were petrified for months. I was really lucky no one died," Ginny said sadly. "Then, he tried to kill me."

Mira's eyes widened, a tear falling from the corner.

"My boyfriend saved me ... although, he wasn't my boyfriend at the time. He killed the monster, and destroyed the book that the bad man was using to control me. I had the scary images, the bad dreams...all of it. In time, I was able to heal enough to be able to move on. Now, I know you don't want to remember those things, or think about them, but we really do need your help."

Mira shook her head. "No one needs my help. The Phoenix did for a few minutes, but then he was gone."

Ginny smiled, holding her hand in hers. She was rubbing small circles on the back of her hand, offering her comfort and warmth. She was trying to enter her mind as well, to heal the hurt and horror but she kept coming up against a brick wall. "Ron misses you. He talks about you often, you know. He's my brother. He was hurt pretty badly. We didn't know until we got him back home. That's why he hasn't been able to visit you. But he's better now."

Mira's eyes widened. "I miss him."

Ginny smiled at her. "I'm sure he would love to see you again. I can ask him to come over, if you want."

Mira nodded. "Okay."

Ginny stood up and headed over to the fireplace. She flooed Dumbledore's office and asked him if he could send Ron over. When she went back to Mira's room, Mira was playing with her dolls. "Ron's coming over in a little while."

Mira nodded. "You want to know about you. I know that. Everyone wants the answers."

Ginny nodded. "We do. Ron, Harry, and I ... we want to understand our roles in this big fight that's coming. You tell me I'm the Flame, and we know that Harry is the Conqueror and Ron is the Phoenix, but what do these titles mean?"

Mira shrugged. "I don't know. I just see something in my mind ... but I don't understand it."

"That makes sense. Kind of like a funny dream? You know, I have these powers of healing. So, if you want, I could use them to make you feel better?"

Mira glanced at her quizzically. "How?"

Ginny smiled. "I'm not sure exactly how I can do it. But I know that if you let me, I could see those terrible dreams of yours and try to make sense of them. It would be easier on you because you wouldn't have to carry the burden alone. I could make you remember the good times with your real mum and dad, and not the bad so often."

"I don't know." Mira replied. "I don't want to remember them ... the bad man wanted me to remember them."

Ron stepped into the room then and he smiled warmly at Mira. It hurt him to see her eyes white with blindness but he kept his smile in place. "Hey Mira!"

Mira grinned and her arms opened instantly. It surprised Ron, the instant tug of absolute affection for the tiny girl. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her cheeks before he let her stay in his lap.

"Are you helping Ginny?"

Mira shook her head no. "I don't know how."

Ron kept his arms around her. "Remember how you told me that you remember some stuff and some you don't?" When she nodded he continued. "Ginny can help you remember everything and get past all the scary stuff. It would help us a lot, too. I need to know more about my role as the Phoenix, Mira, and I know that Ginny needs to know more about her role with Harry as the Flame and the Conqueror. You can help us with that."

Mira cuddled closer. "When the seventh month begins."

"What does that mean?" Ron asked softly.

"That's when it will happen." Her eyes met Ginny's then, and she nodded. "You can look. I will try to help you."

Ginny smiled and took Mira's small hands in her own. "Thank you."

Ginny concentrated her magic on slowly slipping into Mira to heal her. She wanted Mira to feel nothing but the warmth and the happiness as she focused on her mind. She could see the physical abuse of what she had to go through with Voldemort and she flew past it, healing the pain of it as much as she could. She knew that pain as intense as that would never go away. Mira would probably always have nightmares about it. It would always be there, and the only thing Ginny could do was make the immediate pain of it go away, even if was only for a little while. She would have to go back to those memories afterwards.

She went a little farther and then the vision sucked through her.

A jet of green light flew towards someone and Ron threw himself in front of it. The light turned to ashes and Ginny sent protective flames around Ron causing the ashes to spiral around at someone else. Words echoed The Phoenix rises with the Flame, the Conqueror holds him dear to name.