The Beginning of The End

Reminder: Hermione is Head Girl and Justin is Head Boy. Just in case you forgot. ;)

Chapter Fourteen

The Calm Before

The Easter holiday at Hogwarts found the students breathing a momentary sigh of relief and escaping outside to the spring air and hot sun. Harry, Ron and Hermione took advantage as well and relaxed in short sleeves and jeans underneath a tree by the lake. Harry lie on his stomach copying Hermione's notes, catching up on homework and studying for his N.E.W.T.S but he was more relaxed than usual because he didn't have to worry about attending classes for two weeks.

Hagrid's death had sent all the Gryffindors and most of the school into weeks of mourning. And while Harry wanted to remain there forever, something inside made him stop and stand still. And it occurred to him that he'd hadn't done that at all really. His first instinct was, of course, to blame him... Voldemort for Hagrid's death. However, Harry realized that he didn't want to think about Voldemort every time he thought of Hagrid. It seemed wrong somehow and it made him even more sad. He liked it best when memories of Hagrid would flood his mind; all the happy times they'd spent together. Those things felt right to think about.

Harry heaved a sighed, letting his gaze sweep over Hagrid's cabin. He missed him. The thought of never hearing Hagrid's voice or seeing his big whiskery grin made him want to bury his head in his arms. Instead, he bent his head and continued writing.

"Look at the giant squid," said Hermione suddenly.

Harry lifted his head and had to let out an astonished laugh. "What's his deal?"

They all peered at the squid who was lifting one of his tentacles high into the air, stretching it as far as it could go.

"Oh, no," said Ron. "He's going to splash us! Get up, hurry!"

They started to scramble up, Harry grabbing his notes, but it was too late. The tentacle crashed into the lake at full force, sending a wave of water over the shore. Hermione shrieked, Ron yelped and Harry gasped as the wave splashed down on them.

"Oh!" Hermione moaned, wiping her sopping hair out of her face. Harry looked at Ron, who was stunned and dripping wet and all of a sudden, Harry found himself laughing out loud. He heard a shrill giggle, which was Hermione's, and before any of them knew it, they were holding their sides for laughing so hard.

When it died down, Harry realized that he was drying off already in the warm sun. Then he gazed out at the lake with the light reflecting shakily on its surface and he realized... it was a perfect day for a swim. Wondering why he hadn't thought about swimming when it had started to get warm a few weeks ago, Harry mentioned it to Ron, who lifted a brow. "I could go for a swim. Hermione?"

She gave them the incredulous look they knew so well. Harry felt like he'd asked if she wanted to poke at the giant squid with their wands for fun.

"Swim? You must be out of your mind. Both of you. It's too cold!"

"It's too cold," Ron mocked her in a high voice. "Fine, you can watch us, because I want a swim."

Harry and Ron marched up the castle, changed into their swimming trunks, and headed back outside for the lake, with towels swung over their shoulders, Hermione yelling at them all the time.

"You'll catch your death of cold!"

They kept walking, trying not to be rude ignoring her, but ignoring her all the same.

"Harry! You need to keep up your strength, you know!"

"Hermione, swimming in the lake does give me strength. You should try it out; it relieves stress."

Ron grinned. "A stress-free activity! Hermione doesn't like that kind of thing, Harry."

"Oh, be quiet, Ron. I just don't want to make an idiot of myself with you two fools, that's all."

"I think she just called us fools, Harry," said Ron.

"Oh, come on, you're not seriously going to swim. It's against school rules you know!"

Ron rolled his eyes and said in a patronizing sort of voice, "Hermione, nobody pays attention to school rules."

"You won't take too many points away will you?" Harry asked with a smile.

"Oh, honestly, of course I won't take points, however if a teacher should see me, I'll get into trouble," she rambled on.

Harry hadn't felt so carefree in months and once he and Ron had jumped into the lake, he found it quite effortless to push any lingering dark thoughts from his mind. The water was freezing and they shouted out in alarm at first, but before long, he and Ron were racing each other. They fought over who won while Hermione called out to them bossily, her feet dangling in the water.

They went further out and when Harry couldn't touch the bottom anymore, he dove under and swam towards the floor of the lake, touched the sandy ground with his palms and pushed back up. When he surfaced, the cold air met his face and he realized that he was farther from the shore than he had meant to be. When he looked over to where Hermione sat, he saw that Ron was near the shore splashing her lightly and she was laughing and kicking water in his face. All at once, he thought that something was missing ... He swam lazily towards the shore, listening to Hermione's and Ron's laughing and thought it wasn't right she Ginny wasn't here with them.

Ron was now swimming laps and Harry shouted that he was getting out. Ron waved his arm to let him know that he heard him and continued swimming. Harry hoisted himself out of the water and grabbed the towel Hermione held out to him.

"Had enough?" She teased with a smile.

Harry smiled back and pulled his T-Shirt over his head. "Yeah, I'm going in. Coming?"

"Naw. I think I'll stay for a while. Make sure the giant squid doesn't drown him."

Harry laughed. "Don't get any ideas yourself."

"I won't," she grinned.

Harry jogged across the grounds and up the stone pathway towards the stairs that lead into the castle. He slowed when he saw a figure sitting on the steps and smiled at the irony.

"Hey," he said and watched Ginny turn her head in surprise.

"Oh... hi. Were you swimming?" she asked curiously, then shook her head on a weak laugh. "Obviously," she said and gestured to his towel.

He took the steps two at a time and when he reached the one she was sitting on, he sank down next to her.

"Ron and Hermione are down there. Feel up to a swim?"

Ginny smiled. "Naw... it's too cold!"

"It's not cold, it's perfect! Scared of the giant squid, are you?" He nudged her arm a bit playfully.

"No," she laughed. "I don't really feel like it, is all."

"I used to come out here every morning to swim... One time Hagrid came out to meet me and we went inside and had tea before class. I was late for Charms we talked so long," he said, laughing a little.

Ginny laughed softly and leaned down to play with a stone on the step.

Even though she didn't say anything about it, Harry could feel her tension. "Any word from Dumbledore?" he asked her.

"Nope." She flicked the stone away and watched it tumble down the steps.

Harry, Ron and Ginny had gone to Dumbledore the morning of Ginny's dream and Ginny had shown Dumbledore what she had written down. The Headmaster had seemed very concerned and genuinely worried, telling Ginny he would contact her soon about it.

Because he knew exactly how she was feeling, Harry leaned his shoulder against hers. "Try not to think about it."

Ginny nodded. "I am. It's just... never mind."

"What is it?" he persisted.

She shook her head. "You don't need to hear this, really. With everything going on and all..."

"Don't do that," he said warningly.

She regarded him for a minute and then looked away. "It's just that... well, I keep going over it all in my head and I keep thinking--" she broke off and brought her arms up to wrap around herself.

"What?" he asked, leaning a bit closer.

Ginny sighed and waited a long time before speaking. "I keep thinking... my dreams... perhaps they'll start to control me... like the diary."

Harry let out a long breath and thought very hard about it. "You know...I don't think that's going to be a problem. Not with Dumbledore looking after you. If he was worried about that then he would already be taking action against it."

Ginny looked up at him. "You really think so?"

Harry nodded. "I really do."

She nodded also and Harry could tell she was trying to convince herself.

"Come on," he said on impulse, taking her hand and pulling her to her feet.

"Come on... where?" she asked and Harry something in her eyes shining a bit despite her worries.

Encouraged by it, Harry tugged on her hand. "Swimming."

"No," she protested, a trace of laughter in her voice and she tried to pull her hand away.

"It'll do a world of good, I promise."

"I don't even have my swimsuit."

"I'm not taking no for an answer, Miss Weasley."

Ginny sighed and gave in and walked with Harry down the steps. "Okay, fine. I'll put my feet in, how's that?"

"Fine. However, be warned; Ron and I are merciless when it comes to splashing."

"I can handle myself around bully's."

"I believe it. I've seen you better Fred and George," he said, keeping her hand in his as they walked down the pathway.

"True, however, have you had the privilege to witness Ron at my mercy?"

"Now this I have to see."

"Let's go then," she said, now tugging on his hand.

He let her pull him the rest of the way.

A short while later, Harry climbed out again and toweled off while Ron and Ginny fought in the water. Ron had pulled his sister in by the foot and thus started a terrible splashing war. When Ron demanded that Harry choose sides, he wisely decided he'd had enough.

Still swinging her feet in the water, Hermione watched the splashing pair and gasped slightly as Ron dunked Ginny's head under and held it. Harry smiled a little.

"She can handle herself."

Hermione looked at him and after a second, she said, "You don't have to tell me. She's tough, that one."

Harry said nothing and leaned back, enjoying the burning sun on his face and arms. For a while they sat in silence watching Ron and Ginny.

"Can you believe we won't be coming back here next year?" Hermione asked.

Harry shook his head. "I try not to think about it."

"Yeah, but... it's coming, you know. Soon we shall be Hogwarts alumni."

"That's a scary thought."

"It most certainly is. Want to know something funny?" she asked him, smiling fondly. Harry smiled back and lifted a brow.

"Hmm?"

"Before Hogwarts--when I didn't know I was a witch--I had my life all planned out. I wanted to be a dentist like my mum and dad. I was going to study at the same Dentistry school as they did and after that, one of them would hire me. And then when I had enough experience, I would open up my own practice."

Harry stared at her amazed. "I never knew you wanted to be a dentist."

Hermione laughed. "Well, I don't now. My options have expanded a bit. How about you, Harry? What did you want to be when you grew up?"

He smiled a little, thinking back to when he'd been only been a child at the Dursleys."I wanted to be a pilot."

"A pilot?" Hermione choked, laughing.

"Yeah... well, I didn't know what it was called at the time, I just wanted to be the one who flies the airplanes... to be able to leave and... go. Just go away." He let out a little laugh. "I haven't thought about that in ages. Since Hogwarts."

Harry remembered the memory so clearly now. And it made him think of how trapped he had felt at the Dursleys. his whole life, even as a child when hadn't know any better. He felt that same hold again now and he started to shake it off--to tell himself that he wasn't trapped anymore because he had Hogwarts and his friends and Sirius and one day he would be free.

Then Harry's train of thought came to a halt as something occurred to him. He was free. There was no going back to the Dursleys after end of term... no more tiny bedroom, no more eating someone's leftovers or being screamed at day and night. The mere thought had pure adrenaline pumping through his veins and he sat up, not knowing what to do about it. He was free now.

He glanced at Hermione who was tossing stones in the water, oblivious to Harry's discovery and then out to Ron and Ginny who were now playing some sort of odd sport that could only be a Weasley family game. Thoughts of summer popped into his head and playing Quidditch day and night in the glen at the Burrow. Would he return to the Weasleys again? Watching Ginny, he thought that idea definitely had merit and he felt a grin pulling on his mouth.

But then there was the familiar plummeting feeling when his thoughts returned to what he would have to face eventually. And if he would make it through to ever have his freedom.

He couldn't go far away from Hogwarts and knew that Dumbledore had mentioned something he was working on to be able to contact Harry after term if he was needed at Hogwarts. Preoccupied, Harry glanced back at the castle and let his eyes travel from the top of Gryffindor Tower down to the windows of the Great Hall, to the Greenhouses, and the woods. His gaze lingered on Hagrid's Hut for a moment before traveling to the Quidditch pitch. He stared at it for a long time.

After the swimming, just as the sun began to set, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny sat under the same tree. They talked about silly things, like Ginny's Divination frustrations and Ron's plans to curse Snape in his sleep. Hermione and Ginny laughed at some secret joke while Harry and Ron rolled their eyes at one another.

Every so often, Ron would glance from Harry to Ginny and back again, and Harry knew that he was stifling the urge to ask them strait out what was going on between them. Harry was grateful that he didn't--although the answer to that question seemed very simple in retrospect, Harry's feelings were another matter completely. He knew he liked Ginny as something more than a friend... He knew he depended on her very much lately and that the slightest smile from her could leave an entirely different feel on his day. But answering the question, especially if Ron were to ask, would not do just yet.

"Did you hear?" Ginny was saying to Ron. "George has a new girlfriend. Mum told me in her last letter."

"Who is she?" Hermione asked.

Ginny shrugged. "I dunno, Mum said that she works close to the joke shop and George has been secretly dating her all year. Fred didn't even know."

"What a loser," Ron muttered.

"Well, Mum was beside herself. She seems to think that one day she's going to wake up to find Bill, Charlie, Fred and George all married with children without her knowing it."

They all laughed and speculated on who it could be for while and a short time later, Harry looked up to see an owl flying through the twilight, heading strait for them. They all watched as it swooped down in front of Harry and dropped a letter in his lap before taking off.

"Probably from Sirius," Harry started to say and lifted a brow upon noticing the plain envelope with no heading or name. He flipped open the envelope, but when he unfolded the small piece of parchment, he saw that it, too, was completely blank. He turned it over in his hands. "It's empty," he said, looking up at them, confused.

The last thing he saw was Hermione's eyes widen with fear before he felt a searing pain slice across his forehead. Harry barely had time to register anything before the letter was pulled with an invisible force from his hand and into the air. The pain was all consuming and he clapped a hand to his forehead and doubled over.

"Harry!" he heard Ginny say and he felt a hand on his back.

The next thing he knew was a blinding green light in front of his closed eyes and Hermione saying in a shaking voice, "Dumbledore. Now."

"Harry, can you stand?" came Ginny's trembling whisper and when he tried to shake his head, the pain increased so badly that he cried out.

Harry felt strong hands grip him underneath his arms and pull him to his feet and he knew it was Ron. He had no idea how he walked up to the castle in the state he was in, but soon they were sitting in Dumbledore's office and Harry was still bent over, clutching his throbbing head, while Hermione and Ron blurted to Dumbledore what had happened.

"...Harry got a letter and it was blank... when he opened the envelope... he couldn't even stand... it's still out there...the Dark Mark..."

Harry squeezed his eyes shut, barely hearing them or Dumbledore speaking. The blinding green light of the Dark Mark was still visible behind his eyes, but the pain was starting to ease faintly. He opened his eyes and the floor came into focus... his shoes... Ginny's shoes... Ron's shoes... the bottom of Dumbledore's desk. He raised his head a bit, testing the pain and when he knew it was safe, Harry raised his head level. He realized there was a hand on his shoulder and it was Ron's, gripping very tight.

Dumbledore was standing at the window, staring down onto the fields, where the mark still glowed against the night sky just over the tree. And then he turned to face them and Harry saw the same look behind the blue eyes as he did when they were in the middle of Bene Omnia Vincit. Focused and intense, Dumbledore's eyes swept from Harry's scar to look him in the eye.

The last thing Harry remembered was sharp knives stabbing at his forehead again causing a sudden nauseous feeling before the floor came rising up to meet him.

To Be Continued...

The Hidden Tower