A New Beginning (Sequel to A Different Beginning)

Chapter Twenty-Eight - After the Battle

Harry knew that he was crying like a baby in Ginny's arms, but he didn't care. It was over. He knew it was over. His heart and his brain were telling him, as was the lack of a connection in his scar. It was finally over.

Her hands were in his hair and his face was pressed against her heart. He couldn't stop the tears. He had never felt so relieved, so happy to know that he was finally going to get the life he always wanted.

"I love you, Harry." Ginny whispered mentally. "You did it. You really did it and now it's over."

His eyes met hers, still swimming in tears and he realized that she was crying too. Duels were still going on around them but the white wall of light that Voldemort erected was still keeping them safe in the circle. Harry knew it wasn't going to last much longer. He wiped the tears from his eyes, and then wiped the tears away from Ginny's eyes. He took Ginny's hand in his and kissed the center of her palm.

"I love you, too. Let's get out of here."

They stood up, hand in hand, and the light vanished around them. Harry began to make his way towards the Death Eaters, but Ginny held him back. She nodded towards Voldemort's bloody and mangled body.

Harry nodded at her, understanding exactly what she wanted. He needed to do this. Ginny knew him too well. Together, they knelt down beside his body and rolled it into the small lake that had formed beneath the feet of the statue of Salazar Slytherin. The body sank to the bottom, staining the water red. It wasn't very deep, but at the same time, it was enough.

Voldemort was dead.

The splash of the water echoed in the Chamber, louder than one would have expected. It took only one Death Eater, who was close by, to turn and see the body under the surface. The shock that registered over his face was priceless. With a loud outcry of horror, he alerted the rest of the chamber.

"My Lord!"

Within seconds, a panic had ensued among the Death Eaters.

Duels suddenly stopped. Order members were chasing after Death Eaters and placing anti-Disapparating spells on them to keep them from leaving. It took over thirty minutes to get everyone in place. Bill stood in front of the main group of Death Eaters. They were tied up, bloody, and scared looking as they glanced around at the Order. He turned to Harry and Ginny when they walked towards him.

"You really did it, Harry."

Harry nodded. "No, we did it."

Ginny reached up and kissed Harry deeply. He lost himself, in the kiss and in her. It was over! He was finally getting a chance at the life he always wanted. Harry lingered over her lips for just a moment and when he pulled away, he had a big, sloppy grin on his face.

An arm wrapped around Harry from behind and when he turned around, he found himself crushed into his father's arms. James held him tightly, tears rolling down his cheeks in big waves. Harry was slightly taller than him now, but James held on tight, until Sirius made a 'hem hem' noise behind them.

James pulled back and grinned broadly at his son. "I don't know what to say."

Harry simply nodded and wrapped his arms around his father again. "I thought I had lost you."

Ron grinned from behind them, his arm around Hermione. He was bleeding in the side and on his arm. "My powers turned up at the right time."

James laughed. "They really did. Thank you. It doesn't sound like much, but thank you."

Sirius pushed James out of the way and pulled Harry and Ginny into his arms. "You two were incredible. It was nice to see that old fart get told off."

"It was ... well, it was the hardest thing that I've ever had to do." Harry replied honestly. He wasn't sure what else to say. He still kind of felt like he was in a dream or something.

Remus nodded, holding a hand to his bloody ribs. "I bet it was."

"Shit, Moony, we have to get you to a hospital!" Sirius exclaimed.

Ron raised his hand a bit. "I'll follow, if you don't mind."

Hermione paled. "You said you were fine! Let me see this!"

Ron rolled his eyes and winced as Hermione began to probe his side. "I need to go to St. Mungo's, Mione."

Ginny moved closer to Harry again, her hand in his. "Is everyone ... I mean ..."

James shook his head. "No, we lost some people. Some good people ... Moody included. I'm not sure at exactly ... Are you two injured at all? Do you need to go to St. Mungo's?"

"Harry does." Ginny piped up, ignoring Harry's glare. "He got hit a few times with that sword and ... I don't care if they're just scratches."

"You were under the Cruciatus! Why don't you go to the hospital?" Harry demanded, a frown on his face.

Ginny kissed him softly. "I will, with you."

James nodded. "You take care of him. I'm going to stay back with King and do a body count. Get the right people off to the hospital and to prison."

Ginny nodded. "I'll make sure he's taken care of. Would you like me to contact Lily?"

James smiled. "That would be great. She's already angry enough that she couldn't be here."

Sirius frowned. "She's seven months pregnant! What does she expect?"

James shrugged. "Nothing. Go, make sure Moony's alright."

Ginny smiled. "I'll talk to Tonks and Lexy, as well." When Bill turned to her, she smiled, "And Fleur."

James watched them head off and he nodded at Bill. "I can't believe this really happened. It seems impossible."

Bill nodded as he looked over at where Voldemort's body was submerged under the water. "Tell me about it. He's dead though. I can't remember the last time I saw such a look of utter bliss on Harry's face. He just got a load lifted off of his shoulders."

"Indeed he did. I never wanted to burden him with this. I wanted to keep it hidden from him for as long as I could. He's not even eighteen yet and he's ... accomplished one hell of a task."

Bill looked over at the bodies around them. "Not something I want to remember. Come on; let's get these Death Eaters out of here.

Ian stepped up over to them. "Potter, King gave me authorization for portkeys directly to Azkaban. Bill Weasley apparently has reinforced the prison?"

Bill nodded from behind Ian. "Yeah, I did. Instead of using the Dementors, I used a more muggle style. They will be behind bars. Using things I've learned from curse breaking ... well, let's just say that the prison will be well guarded."

Ian grinned. "Good. I don't want to see these bastards escape. Prison is the best thing for them. None of that capital punishment shite."

"I agree. I don't think that teaches them anything. Did we catch them all?"

Ian nodded. "I think so, but I guess we won't really know for a while. Who knows if any of the Death Eaters didn't end up fighting, or got left behind at that castle? Besides ... how the hell did we even get here?"

James shrugged as he looked around curiously. "You know, that's a damn good question. I didn't even realize that we were somewhere else. Where the hell are we?"

Bill's eyes moved over the statue to where Voldemort's body lay. "Right where it started ... correct me if I'm wrong, but I remember enough from Firefly's nightmares to think this is the Chamber of Secrets."

James' eyes widened as he looked around. "I think you're right. The question then remains, how did we travel from Hadrian's Wall to the Chamber without any of us noticing?"

Charlie stepped up behind them with his arm around Emma. "Good question indeed, and I'm betting Shortstop and Harry know the answers. Look, Emma and I are heading out. Portkey seems to be the best way to get out of this place. It's all piping and sewer, not pleasant."

"Hopefully, none of the Death Eaters managed to get lost in here somewhere." Ian replied as he glanced around.

Emma smiled. "You guys should be alright."

Fred and Angelina stepped forward, holding onto each other. "Is everyone here alright?" Fred asked.

Charlie nodded his eyes on Angelina. "You better get her to a hospital."

Angelina smiled. "It's not as bad as it looks," she replied as she glanced down at the blood flowing freely from her left shoulder. "Just a scratch." Her eyes rolled back into her head and she fainted in her husband's arms.

Fred grinned at Charlie. "She'll be okay. She's just a bit squeamish around blood. You guys got a portkey out of here?"

Ian handed one to Fred. "Get her to the hospital."

Fred nodded. "That's my plan."

Katie stepped forward then, her arms around George who was stumbling. "I need one of those portkeys, too."

Charlie paled as he reached forward to grab his brother's other side. "What the hell happened?"

Katie shook her head, a few tears spilling down. "I'm not sure but ... I think he's going to lose his left eye. I don't think the pipe did too much damage."

"It's painful as hell, though," George muttered. "Come on, Kat, I can wear an eye patch. It'll be dead sexy." He tried to wink at her but failed.

Katie rolled her eyes and accepted the portkey from Ian. "Thank you."

"I'll come with you," Charlie offered. "Em?"

"I'll go to the manor. They might need a babysitter."

Charlie nodded before he, Katie, and George disappeared.

Emma Disapparated a second later.

Bill sighed. "Has anyone seen Percy and Penelope?"

James shook his head. "I saw Penny a while ago, she was tending to the wounded, but I haven't seen Percy."

Arthur stepped up behind James, his hands in his pockets. "Percy's alright. Molly just took him to the hospital. I think he ... he may lose his foot. We're not sure yet."

James put his hand on Arthur's shoulder. "I'm sorry."

Arthur shook his head, tears in his eyes as he reached over to clasp Bill's hand. "It doesn't matter. We all came through. I only wish every family could say the same."

James nodded. "Amen. Alright, let's worry about the most important things first. Ian, we'll bring the Death Eaters down to the prison and Bill, you're going to work on the bodies?" James asked.

Bill nodded. "I got it."

"I'll help," Arthur nodded. "We'll get the wounded to St. Mungo's and the dead down to the coroner."

Bill watched as James and Ian headed over to the Death Eaters. He took a deep breath and his eyes met his father's before they moved into the middle of the Chamber. They had a lot of work to do.

*******

Seamus watched as Lavender materialized in front of him in the lobby of St. Mungo's. She had been in the second station of portkeys. He tugged her close and just buried his face in the crook of her neck.

Her arms wrapped around him as she held on tightly. "I'm okay."

"Me too," he murmured.

He kissed her before he pulled back. "I don't ... he's gone."

Lavender smiled up at him. "Yeah, he is. He's really gone and it's about time."

Seamus laughed. "I agree with that." He turned at the sound of his name and nodded at Draco as he stepped forward. "How's it going?"

Draco shrugged. "Could be better. I'm making a list of who was wounded, how are you two?"

Lavender smiled at him, staying in Seamus' arms. "We're alright. A couple scratches here and there but we'll be fine."

"Good. I'll see you later."

Seamus watched him go and he turned to grin at Lavender. "Come on, we've got a lot to talk about."

Lavender only nodded as she hurried after her fiancée with a grin. They were finally going to get to start their life.

*********

Sirius saw Tonks walk in with Lexy, Daniel, and Keira and he hurried forward. "Thank Merlin, you guys are here!"

Tonks' eyes filled up with tears. "Remus?"

Sirius grinned. "He's fine. In a little bit of pain, but he's fine. Where's Lily?"

Lexy placed Keira into her father's arms before she wrapped her arms around her husband. "She went to see Harry. How is he?"

"He's alright. He wasn't injured too badly. It was hard on him, though."

Tonks nodded. "I bet. Where's Remus, Sirius?"

"Oh, sorry, Tonks. Second door on the right." He watched her hurry off before he turned to his wife. "We lost a lot of kids today. I left the battle to bring Moony here and the bodies ... what a war zone."

Lexy moved a little closer to him, snuggling into his embrace. "I don't know what I would have done if I had lost you, you great stupid prat!"

Sirius laughed. "Babe, you're stuck with me for life."

Lexy smiled up at him. "I'm holding you to that."

Sirius grinned as he held his family close. For the first time that he could remember he felt safe and it felt wonderful.

*******

Remus looked up when the door to his room opened and managed a huge sloppy grin for his wife and son. "Hey."

Tonks stared at him for a moment as she approached the bed. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, Tonks, don't worr - ow!" He grabbed his arm in pain from where his wife had just slapped him. "What was that for?"

"Remus John Lupin, if you EVER scare me like this again, I'm going to kill you! First with the werewolves, and now this! How much stress do you think I can take?!" Tonks exclaimed angrily.

Remus smiled up at her. "I'll be good, I promise. Please don't hit me again."

She laughed and placed Daniel on the bed. "You're such an idiot."

He grinned and tugged her down to kiss her. "I love you. It's over, Dora. We won. Harry really did it."

Tonks sat down on the bed next to him and took his hand in hers, as Daniel nestled himself in his father's lap silently. "What was it like?"

Remus leaned back against his pillow, his arms around his son. "It was bloody and rough and ... hell, Harry and Ginny have a hell of a lot of power. It was unbelievable. This huge white wall of light erected around them and then Voldemort screamed. Whatever they did ... it worked."

Tonks kissed her husband's cheek. "Harry really did it."

Remus nodded. "He did. It's over, Dora." He kissed the top of his son's head as he held his wife's hand in his. It was really over.

*****

Ron was in the hospital room waiting for the healer to stop probing him with things. His side ached and he knew that his ribs were broken ... again. Not that he was surprised. He had fought hard and he was still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that it was over. They had won.

He ignored the healer and thought back to that wall of fire phoenixes that he had made. That wall of fire had saved James' life and he knew it. It had been unbelievable. He still couldn't believe that he had done it. He closed his eyes and pictured that fire again. His eyes opened at the sound of the healer yelping.

In the palm of his hand was a ball of fire - not just any fire - but fire shaped like a phoenix. He grinned to himself, closing his fist around it and causing it to disappear. He had managed to control his magic ... finally. He still may not have understood the purpose, but he knew he had power not be messed with. He was the Phoenix.

"Uncle Ron!" A sweet voice exclaimed, bringing his attention to the doorway. He grinned at the sight of Leila holding Mira's hand.

"Uncle Ron?" He asked, ignoring his healer who glared angrily at him before she stormed from the room.

Leila smiled. "Mira likes it."

He grinned at his goddaughter as she carefully climbed up onto the bed and into his arms. "Hey, Sweetheart."

Mira smiled up at him. "I saw the battle in my head. You saved a man and killed one."

"Yeah, I did." Ron replied slowly. He still wasn't sure what to think about the fact that he killed Dolohov.

Mira grinned. "The Phoenix ... you became the Phoenix."

Ron smiled at her and kissed her cheek. "Yeah, I did, thanks to you." He pulled her close for a hug.

"The bad man is all gone now?" She asked.

Ron nodded. "Yes. He's all gone. He can't hurt you ever again."

Mira smiled at him. "Good."

Leila grinned down at them. "Come on now, Mira, let Uncle Ron rest. You can come back and visit him later. We have to go find Daddy." Leila's eyes met Ron's and he nodded.

"He was doing a body count."

Leila sighed in relief. "I hadn't heard ... thank you."

Ron kissed Mira's cheek and watched them go. Seconds later he heard her voice and then his worst fear became reality.

"You let me in there, right now!" Hermione exclaimed angrily.

"I'm sorry, Miss, but for the last time, family only -"

"LET ME SEE MY HUSBAND, NOW!"

"HUSBAND? WHAT?" Molly exclaimed. "DID YOU TWO GET MARRIED?" Suddenly the door to Ron's room busted open. "RONALD BILIUS WEASLEY!"

Ron grimaced. "Hey Mum."

Hermione stepped in behind Molly, a little pale. "Ron."

Molly's gaze flickered back and forth between them. "When?"

"May 14th."

"MAY 14TH!" She exploded.

Ron nodded weakly. "McGonagall did it, at Hogwarts. Harry was our witness."

"HARRY KNEW BEFORE YOUR OWN MOTHER!"

Ron paled slightly. "Mum, we had our reasons and ..." He trailed off and glanced over at his wife.

"REASONS DON'T CUT IT, RONALD! HOW DARE YOU GO OFF AND GET MARRIED WITHOUT TELLING ANYONE! THAT WAS SELFISH AND UNCALLED FOR, NOT TO MENTION UTTERLY IMMATURE! I THOUGHT I RAISED YOU BETTER THAN THAT!"

Hermione stepped forward and took his hand in hers. "Mrs. Weasley ... Molly ... I love Ron more than anything else in this whole world. We wanted to get married right away, not because we wanted to take anything away from you, but because we wanted it. The war was escalating; Dumbledore had just died, and ... it was what we wanted."

Molly's eyes softened a bit and she stopped yelling. "Oh, Dear, don't think I'm not happy to have you in the family, because I've always seen you as a second daughter. I just ..." She wiped tears from her eyes. "I just wanted to see you walk down the aisle."

Hermione smiled at her and moved to hug Molly closely. "Ron and I were thinking of maybe renewing our vows in front of everyone, in about a year from now."

Ron nodded from behind them. "Yeah, Mum, you can help us plan that out."

Molly sighed. "Well, I'll take what I can get." She leaned down to run her fingers through her son's hair before she kissed his forehead. "She's wonderful, sweetheart. Congratulations."

Ron grinned. "Thanks, Mum."

Molly smiled at them both, tears in her eyes before she hurried out of the room.

Hermione glanced after her for a moment. "Do you think she'll be alright?"

Ron nodded. "Oh yeah. She'll be fine. She's going to make a huge deal about us renewing our vows and will con Dad into having a talk with me about eloping without telling them. But mostly, she's happy because we all survived the war."

Hermione nodded. "Yeah, she is. How big of a deal do you think she's going to make it?"

Ron grinned at her. "It's going to be a wedding."

Hermione laughed. "That's alright. I'll marry you again any time."

He grinned. "Yeah, me too." He tugged her down into his arms and kissed her deeply. "I love you."

Hermione's eyes met his and she grinned. "I love you, too."

********

Draco turned just in time to see Lily rushing towards him, her arms open. The next thing he knew, he was wrapped up in her arms in a huge hug.

"Oh, Draco! Thank Merlin, you're alright!"

Draco grinned. He still wasn't used to the feeling of someone so obviously caring about his well-being. "I'm fine. I was lucky."

Lily pulled back a bit to kiss his cheek. "You're sure you're alright? Do you need to see a healer? Let me take you to see a healer!"

He rolled his eyes, even though he secretly enjoyed the coddling. "I don't need a healer. I'm fine, really. Harry's a bit banged up, go coddle him."

Lily bit her lip nervously, worry in her eyes. "Sirius said he was fine. Where is he?"

Draco nodded. "He is fine. He just has some scratches and bruises. Ginny's in there with him making sure a healer checks him over, and making sure he stays put."

Lily nodded; her eyes on the front entrance of St. Mungo's. "James?"

"He's fine, too. Last I saw him he was taking the Death Eaters to prison with the other Aurors."

This seemed to calm Lily a bit as she placed a hand over her large stomach. "Good."

"Where are Lyra and Elizabeth?" Draco asked.

"Oh, Emma's watching them for me. She came back to the manor to tell Fleur that Bill was alright and just helping them bring the prisoners to Azkaban. She told me Harry and James were alright too, but I needed to see for myself. She offered to watch the girls so I could come down here. Where's Delilah?"

Draco grinned at her and leaned down to kiss her cheek, making Lily smile warmly at him. "We're all fine, now stop worrying. Go down that hall, four doors down, make a left, and then three doors on the left. Go see Harry."

Lily grinned at him and kissed his cheek. "Thank you."

Draco watched her go as Delilah came around the corner. He grinned at her and pulled her close for a long kiss.

Delilah smiled up at him when he pulled away. "What was that for?"

He shrugged as he brushed a piece of her hair out of her eyes. "Nothing in particular. I love you."

Her smiled widened. "I love you, too."

"We have a wedding to plan," Draco said with a grin. "We have a wedding to plan in a little over three weeks."

Delilah wrapped her arms around him. "Have a little faith, Draco. We can do it." Then she kissed him deeply again.

The happiness that soared through him at that moment couldn't be explained, it was just too wonderful. He was finally going to get to start the life he had never allowed himself to hope for. It was over.

********

Ginny sat on the bed, next to Harry after the healer had looked him over. "Are you sure you feel alright?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "I'm fine. I just want to get out of here."

She grinned at him and kissed him softly. "I love you. I love how brave you were today. I love that you destroyed him in the place where it all started for me."

"I don't even know how we got into the Chamber of Secrets."

Ginny reached forward to run her fingers through his hair. "I do." Harry's eyes met hers and she smiled. "You knew he was trying to escape. You scared him enough into running away. Tom planned to go somewhere where he thought he would be safe and bring Nagini with him."

"But Hermione always says that you can't apparate into Hogwarts."

"The Chamber is miles under the school. You could technically apparate down there."

"Is that what I did?" Harry asked. "If so, then how did I bring everyone in that room with me?"

Ginny smiled now. "Harry, that entire time, your power was building constantly. I could feel it. You knew Tom was going to make a run for it. When you used your elementals to stop him from leaving, the spell backfired. Tom tried to stop you. In the process, the spell expanded ... I don't know how or why, maybe fate had something to do with it ... but the spell expanded and moved every person in that room to Tom's destination."

Harry nodded. "That makes sense. Why do you think he went to the Chamber of Secrets?"

Ginny shrugged. "We'll never know for certain, but I think it was the only place he figured he wouldn't be found. The Chamber of Secrets was the start of it for him, too."

"The Chamber of Secrets?" Lily asked from the doorway, her hand over her heart.

Ginny smiled and stood up, taking Lily's hand and bringing her over to a chair. "Yes. The end of the battle ended up there."

Lily took Harry's hand in hers. "I don't even know what to say."

Harry smiled at her. "I don't know what to tell you. I did it. I ... murdered him."

Ginny shook her head. "You can't murder someone like that, Harry. You did what was right."

Lily nodded. "Listen to your wife, sweetheart. She knows what she's talking about. I guess this may not be the thing you want to hear right now but ... what happened?"

Harry sighed. "I don't know ... it ... swords and power and death and blood and ... I can't, not right now, Mum."

Ginny sat on the edge of Harry's bed again as the door opened and James grinned at them. "Hey."

He hurried over to Lily, kissing her deeply before he turned to Harry and Ginny. "How are you two?"

"We're fine, Da."

Lily expanded the chair so that James could sit down too, and snuggled close to him. "It doesn't seem real."

James grinned. "It really doesn't. You know what's going to happen now, right?"

Harry shook his head. "No."

"The Ministry is going to be all over you, the press, the media ... Harry, you're the hero of the wizarding world, whether you want to be or not. You're going to be hounded for details and ... it's going to be hard, and it's definitely not going to go away." James explained.

Lily nodded, her fingers entwining with her husband's. "No, it's going to be rough."

Ginny leaned down to kiss Harry softly before he could complain. "We'll handle it."

Harry sighed. "I guess it's my only choice."

Ginny laughed. "It really is."

********

It was a few days later that Harry came into the kitchen of Potter Manor, holding Ginny's hand in his. He smiled at Lily as he took a seat. "Good morning."

Lily grinned at him. "Good morning. James is already gone. He and Ian are just swamped with paperwork and interrogations."

Harry looked at Ginny then and she nodded at him. "Lily, Harry and I were thinking ... we don't want to be here anymore, not for all of this. It's hard on Harry, not to mention the many reporters that swarm him whenever we leave the house."

Lily nodded. "I understand. Are you going to take off for your honeymoon, then?"

Harry smiled at his mother. "Yeah, I think we will."

Lily reached over to squeeze his hand. "We have mansions all over Europe, take your pick."

Harry kissed his mother's cheek before he and Ginny hurried out of the room.

Lily placed a hand over her stomach with a smile. They deserved to get away more than anyone else she knew. Harry didn't need to be bombarded by reporters any more. She had seen what it was doing to his nerves and he needed to be happy. This was the perfect opportunity. Ginny would get that smile back on her baby boy, the one that reached his eyes. With a grin on her face, she took a sip of her orange juice. Besides, when he returned, there was going to be a lot of ceremonies to deal with.

She sighed ... it was going to be a very long summer.