New Beginnings

New Beginnings

Harry left the headmaster's office with Ron and Hermione trailing behind him. He was dying of lack of sleep, as he was sure his best friends were as well.

"Not so fast, Harry!" Hermione called from behind him.

Harry turned to see that he had unknowingly gotten far ahead of them with his thoughts of what would happen. He stopped to wait for them and an image of Ginny involuntarily appeared in his mind. Harry made a mental note to talk to her first thing after he had gotten some rest.

"Bloody hell, mate, what's the rush?" Ron asked when he reached him.

"Sorry," Harry replied. "I'm so tired my mind isn't thinking straight anymore."

Ron snorted. "I thought that when you gave up the elder wand."

Hermione jabbed Ron in the side, hard.

"OW!" Ron hissed rubbing the probably bruising area. "What was that for?"

"For being an ass," Hermione replied. "Honestly, Ron." Then she rolled her eyes and led the way back to the common room.

Ron looked at Harry with a sigh. To which Harry replied, "Tough luck, mate."

~

Harry woke on the comfy armchair near the fire. He surveyed the room and realized, when nothing came out sharp, that his glasses had been removed. Harry looked around and sure enough they were placed carefully on the end table next to him.

Once they were placed on his nose Harry noticed that Ron and Hermione had curled up together on the couch and he immediately stood to give them some privacy.

The halls of the school were almost completely empty but a rumble of voices was coming from the Great Hall. Harry looked down at his watch and realized that it was still broken from his fourth year. He sighed as went down to the Hall with no idea what time it was.

On the way portraits congratulated him and some ran from one frame to the other to follow him, often annoying the frame's rightful occupants. A familiar voice called from one of the portraits and Harry turned to see a rather drunken knight hiccupping.

"Why, Mr. - hiccup - Potter, noble Gryffindor who slay old scramble brains - hiccup - my deepest regards are offered to you," Sir Cadagon said before collapsing in the portrait, causing many others to shake their heads at him.

Harry let out an almost forced laugh. He wondered if he would ever truly laugh again. With one last look at the unconscious knights he turned and head down the last flight of stairs to the entrance hall.

The Great Hall was bursting with people. Families were everywhere. Everyone was comforting everyone else for his or her losses. Harry felt a pang in his stomach as he realized that those who had died had because of him. It was his fault and if he had not waited so long to turn himself over, if he had figured it out sooner, then many would not have died. Images of Lupin, Tonks, and Fred floated into his mind and he silently cursed himself for being so thick.

"Harry," a voice behind him said, if it had not been burned into his brain he might have had a hard time placing it, but as he turned he expected the burly form of Charlie Weasley, red hair and all.

"Hello," Harry said, or rather he meant to say it normally but it came out close to that of a whisper.

Charlie looked at him knowingly. "It's alright Harry," he said with a pat on his back. "You don't have to say anything."

Harry looked around for the rest of the Weasley family and found that there was one Weasley woman short.

"She's by the lake," Charlie replied, knowing exactly what Harry had been wondering.

"Thanks," Harry said.

Charlie made to leave but was stopped when Harry said, "I'm not sure what I should do."

Charlie gave him a warm smile. "I can't help you there, mate, but I do know that you can figure it out all on your own," he said. "You're pretty smart, Potter, and brave as hell."

With that Harry was pulled into a bone-crushing hug before being left to his own decision. Find Ginny or not?

~

Harry hadn't taken a shower in a while and the warm water felt good against his skin. So Harry stalled with that. He made sure to wash his hair and scrape the layer of grime off his body. When he got close to rubbing his skin raw he decided that he had run out of reasons to take a shower and dried off.

After changing into jeans and a long-sleeved shirt to hide some of his newly acquired scars he went down to the kitchens for food.

Kreatcher had no problem finding him something to eat and served him butterbeer to go with his roast sandwich.

Harry found that he had no reason to stay down in the kitchens after a few painful memories of the happy little house elf that had once brought Harry, Ron, and Hermione food. He pictured Dobby's grave in his mind before shaking it out and leaving the kitchen full of overly excited elves.

The grounds were one of the most telltale signs that something great had happened. While the castle had been repaired as best as it could, the grounds had yet to be attended to.

There were patches of ground that had been dug up, and trees that had been uprooted. It was a mess of destruction. The one place that showed just how much had happened and what could not be replaced. Trees could be planted and holes filled, but there would always be the difference there, that it had changed.

Harry found himself down near the lake, like the last time he had been this close, it seemed serene, down under its depths, life went on.

"Beautiful isn't it?" a sweet soft voice behind him said, and he found Ginny standing not five feet from him. Her eyes were slightly red probably from unshed tears.

"Yes," Harry said. "But I know someone more beautiful." He took a small step towards her and she looked at him with that blazing look of hers.

"Why, Harry?" she asked. Her voice was soft, yet you could hear the anger underneath, the unspoken need for an answer.

"It had to be done," was his reply.

Ginny closed the space between them. "I thought you had died, Harry. You were there, limp in Hagrid's arms, and all I could think was 'he didn't say goodbye.'

"So again, Harry, why did you let him try to kill you?"

"You won't let this go will you?" Harry asked her, sweeping a strand of fire red hair behind her ear.

"No."

"Then I'm going to tell you that the only way to kill him was to destroy all of him. You don't know what horcruxes are do you?" Harry waited for a response from Ginny, but when she gave none he sat down and motioned next to him. She sat facing him.

"I better start with last year, when Dumbledore was still alive..."

~

She sat there through it all, his entire story. Ginny never flinched, never showed any emotion until he was done.

Harry look up at Ginny when he finished and she grabbed his hand and squeezed it before beginning to roll up the sleeve on his shirt, exposing Nagini's bite. Her lip quivered slightly before she moved on to his chest, where there was the scar from the locket.

When she looked up at him, her eyes were filled with tears. "I can't believe you never told me, I was angry with you, coming back and barely saying a thing to me. I was angry that you could cast me aside like that for something I did not know."

Harry smiled at her. "Now you know. I told you how I thought of you, I never cast you aside, and I never will be able to."

Harry stood up and pulled Ginny with him. "Shall we start over, Pretend that what happened in the Room of Requirement was not our first meeting since the wedding," Harry said.

Ginny smiled at him.

"Hi, Ginny."

"Hello, Harry."

"Have I told you I love you today?" Harry asked.

"You might have," Ginny replied grabbing his hand.

With that Harry pulled Ginny in for a very long and sweet kiss, neither of them thinking about what had happened the past few days, or the past year. That moment it was perfect, a new beginning for everyone.