Harry Potter and Unexpected Beginnings

Chapter thirty-one

Harry handed the parchment Lockhart gave him, to Dumbledore, watching as the wizard unrolled it and began reading its contents. The kitchen at Grimmauld Place was becoming the common meeting place of any and all information concerning Voldemort, or his followers. Harry felt pleased that he, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were finally being accepted into the fold, to a point at least, but on the other hand, he felt overwhelmed that so much was happening in such a short time.

"I also got this from the Head Healer," Lupin said, handing the old wizard a tattered old book. Dumbledore took it and flipped through the pages. There were many at first, written years before when Alice and Frank Longbottom were active members of the Order of the Phoenix, and then nothing but a few drawings and scribbled words after their attack. The old wizard sighed, setting the book aside.

"Harry, what did Professor Lockhart say to you?" he asked, looking much older and more tired than ever.

"He said it wasn't safe there, and that she should have been at the Quiddich game with Professor Snipes, and that she would have had a nice visit with her brother, because he was there."

"Professor Snipes?" Bill asked.

"Do you think he means Professor Snape?" Charlie asked.

"It would have to be," Percy said. "The only year Lockhart was at Hogwart's was the year Draco Malfoy made the Slytherin team. If it was Lucius Malfoy who visited Alice Longbottom, then it would make sense that he would make the connection, since he was there to see his son's performances."

"But what about the parchment?" Harry asked, looking to the old wizard at the other end of the table. "Professor Lockhart wrote that Alice Longbottom had remembered her last mission for the Order and spoke about something green."

"The Green Flame Torch," Dumbledore said softly.

"What is that?" Harry asked. Dumbledore sighed.

"I should have figured it out before," he said as if speaking to himself. "I'm getting too old for this."

"Professor?" Harry said again, capturing the man's attention. Again Dumbledore sighed. "The prophecy said the light is green and so a flame will grow. I'm sure it means the Green Flame Torch. I should have realized it earlier."

"But what is it?"

"There is a legend of a group of witches, wiser and more powerful than any since or any before, who traveled to the east and disappeared into the vastness of time. They are said to have marked their path with a Green Flame Torch, and only the purest of hearts can find it. It's written that the seeker, who searches in truth and light, will find the path and control the flame's powers, and there will the two forces confront each other. The seeker who wins the flame's power will win the hearts of the wizarding world."

"I'm not a scholar," Harry said with a frown. "What exactly does all that mean?"

"It means Harry, that only a person who is pure, true and selfless can find the flame and use its powers to defeat their enemy."

"So if I want to defeat Voldemort, I have to find this green flame?"

"I'm not sure, but it would make sense. Unfortunately, I don't know where it is, and unless there's something in her notes, Alice Longbottom took her secrets to the grave with her. I'll have to study these very closely, as for now all we can do is continue as we have. You must complete your lessons Harry, and I think it is still a good idea to continue with the D.A. We will need all the skilled wizards and witches we can find." Dumbledore rose from his seat and prepared to leave, when Harry stopped him.

"What about the Death Eaters, we caught at St. Mungo's? Have they said anything about why they were there, or where Voldemort is?" Dumbledore shook his head gently.

"I'm afraid not, Harry. They will need a great deal of questioning and very powerful truth potions in order to get anything out of them. Unfortunately, Lord Voldemort has conditioned his followers with multiple doses of anti truth serums, so it will be quite some time before we can get any information from them." The old wizard walked around the table, stopping and placing a warm hand on Harry's shoulder.

"Your skills are remarkable, Harry. Keep working at them. They will serve you well when the time comes." Harry smiled up at the man, knowing he meant well but feeling anything but appreciative right now. "Your parents would be very proud of you, Harry. You have lived past their expectations." Harry watched the old man leave the room, before turning back to the table's occupants. Ginny wrapped a warm arm through his and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Well, it's New Year's Eve," Mr. Weasley said, trying to bring a sense of happiness back into the house. "What say we pull out the twins' gift packs and bring in the New Year with a real Weasley bang?"

"I've already made toffee apples, popcorn, and we have butter beer and we can roast chestnuts," Mrs. Weasley said in a cheerful tone. "It's little Molly's first New Years Eve, so we'll have to make an especially happy one for her."

"I don't think Molly is old enough or even awake to care, mum," Percy said with a frown.

"Nonsense," Mrs. Weasley said. "She's a part of this family, and it's time she understood the traditions. Why, your first New Years Eve was celebrated with you throwing up all over your father's beard."

"Good think I don't have one, anymore," Mr. Weasley said with a grimace. "I wouldn't want to walk around the rest of the night smelling like a new born's just thrown up on me."

"Again?" Bill teased, nudging his father's arm.

"Why don't we all go into the sitting room, and pull out the games and see if you can beat me at Gobstones," Charlie told the others, as they all gathered into the sitting room, building a fire in the large fireplace and began eating, talking and playing games.

Harry thought back on the past year, all he had lost and all he had gained. He wasn't sure, but somehow he felt that he had gained so much more than he had lost. He loved Sirius and he missed him, less every day since Ginny came into his life, but still there was a void. He thought about the months and the events that had lead him up to this point in his life, and the events that had yet to unfold. If he were asked tonight, he would have to say that his life was better, even with everything that was still ahead of him. He had Ginny, he had a family with the Weasley's, and he had great friends. In his mind, he was the luckiest guy alive.

"I'm glad to be going back to school," Ginny said packing the last of her belongings in her trunk. "Don't get me wrong," she told Harry with a smile. "I've absolutely loved the holidays, most of them anyway, but I'm glad the chaos will soon end and we'll get back to a regular routine."

"By regular, you mean studying all hours, not having any time together, eventually getting frustrated and start yelling at each other?" he asked, with a frown.

"No, I mean classes, and yes homework, but that's a given. Then there are the D.A. meetings to start up with and of course we have study breaks to look forward to."

"We didn't get very many study breaks before the holidays, what makes you think we'll get any after?"

"Well it wasn't my idea not to take breaks. If our Quiddich captain would be a little more considerate and let up on the training, maybe I'd have time to spend with you. But no, he's ruthless and controlling and I have no time between practices, games and studying for my O.W.L.s. So I guess finding time for us, will have to be up to you."

"You're a real smart arse this morning, aren't you?" Harry asked her, walking up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist, hugging her against him.

"Honestly Harry, when are we going to find time together?" Harry kissed her neck, turning back to his own packing.

"I'm not sure, but we will. It may not be as much time as it has been here, but we will find time. We have Easter break coming up in a few months, so we can make up for lost time then."

"And after that the summer holidays, and you'll be going back to those horrid relatives of yours and I won't see you until Dumbledore feels its time. I swear, when we're out of school, I'm going to demand every evening and every weekend be reserved just for us."

"It's a deal." Harry smiled as he snapped his trunk shut and went to help her close the lid on her own.

"Hey, you guys ready?" Ron asked, pushing the door to their room open.

"Almost," Harry grumbled pushing the top of Ginny's trunk down. "What have you got in here, the entire bloody bedroom?"

"For your information, I happen to have only what I brought, and my Christmas gifts."

"Well I know I didn't give you anything big enough to stop your trunk from closing." Harry flung the top of the trunk open and reached inside, pulling out the bed pillows and comforter that he had conjured up for their room. He looked at Ginny with raised eyebrows.

"I wanted to remember our holidays," she said with a blush

"I'm surprised you left the curtains," he said, closing the lid again and latching the lock.

"What's wrong with my wanting to take something from home with us?"

"If you take everything from here, what's left for when we come back?"

"I just wanted to keep the memory alive, is that so bad?" Harry reached out and took her in his arms, kissing her forehead gently.

"Ginny, you'll have lots of memories from our holidays, but you can not pack up all of Grimmauld Place and take it with you. We'll be back, I promise and when we do, we'll need this stuff here. You don't need it at school."

"I guess. But I love it."

"Then leave it for when we come home," he told her, kissing her lips with the promise they would indeed come back here.

"If you two don't knock it off, we're never going to get back to school," Ron grumbled. Harry and Ginny followed the boy out of the room, shaking their heads. He had been in a sour mood since he returned from the Granger's yesterday, and refused to discuss anything that had happened while he was there. All he would do was blush and say everything was fine.

Downstairs, the noise and hustle of last minute packing and preparations were under way, as usual. Mrs. Weasley was busy preparing snacks for the trip, while Mr. Weasley and the twins were busy loading the trunks into the cars secured from the Ministry of Magic. The day was proving to be the same as any last day, and Harry smiled. It was just the sort of hustle and bustle he loved; it made him feel like a member of a real family. The Dursley's never had last minute rushing, everything was prepared the night before and a tight schedule was made and kept for leaving wherever they went. It was utterly boring.

"Ginny did you get everything?" Mrs. Weasley began coming out of the kitchen. "Oh, Ronald, tie your shoes, and Harry dear, do straighten your hair."

"It doesn't straighten," Harry grumbled reaching up and trying his best to flatten his hair down.

"Yes, well, do your best dear," Mrs. Weasley said again, as George came down the stairs carrying Ginny's trunk. Fred smiled at Harry ruffling his already messy hair and snickering.

"Much better, Harry dear," he teased, as Harry batted his hands away, turning and frowning at Ginny.

"What? They're your problem."

"They're your brothers," he grumbled.

"Not by choice. I didn't ask for them."

"Are we going or not?" Moody asked rushing back into the house. "We'll not be able to keep these Muggles distracted for much longer."

"Yes, yes, we're ready. Come on you three, we haven't much time." Mrs. Weasley ushered the rest out of the house and paused to make certain everything was taken, and then hurried to the cars with the rest of them.

"Do you think we'll ever have a calm exit when it comes to leaving for the train?" Ron asked bitterly.

"I highly doubt it," Harry said, taking a seat between brother and sister.

The cars pulled up at Kings Cross at fifteen minutes to eleven, and everyone felt the rush of making it through the portal in time. Ron and Harry secured carts, loading the trunks on them and hurrying toward wall between platforms nine and ten. Ron had nearly reached it, when he heard his name called out, turning to see Hermione rushing toward him followed by her parents.

"Oh, this is just great," he whispered loud enough so Harry and Ginny caught it. They turned to see Ron pause, and force a smile on his face in greeting. He shook Mr. Granger's hand and Harry could tell there was a great deal of tension between the two. Ron helped load Hermione's trunk on his cart and quickly bid the two farewell, hurrying toward the wall. Harry and Ginny passed through it first, followed by a very silent Hermione and Ron. They loaded their trunks on the train and exchanged hugs with the Weasley's in time to hear the whistle blow. They had barely found an empty compartment, when the train pulled away from the station and they were on their way back to school.

Harry sat beside Ginny and sighed. As much as he enjoyed the holidays, he was glad they were over. Too much happened in such a short time, that he couldn't even comprehend there being enough time in the day to accommodate it all. He reached out and held Ginny's hand then glanced across to the opposite seat, seeing Ron sitting close to the window and Hermione nearly falling off the end of the seat.

"So, how was your holiday?" Harry asked Hermione, who glanced sideways to Ron.

"It was fine, thanks," she said rather stiffly, ignoring Ron's snort of disapproval.

"And what about you Ron?" Ginny asked. "Did you enjoy the holidays?"

"Just lovely thanks."

"All right, out with it," Harry said boldly. "Everything was going fine, until you came back from Hermione's. What happened?" Ron glared at Hermione, then turned back to the window.

"Well don't blame me," she snapped at him.

"It was your bloody idea, and I'm the one who paid for it," Ron growled in return.

"What happened?" Ginny asked.

"Your brother decided he wanted to see everything Muggle, so we stayed went to the mall and he got stuck on the escalators."

"My pants, which I might add you made me wear, were too long and the got caught in the little steps. I nearly lost my pants right there in front of every teenage Muggle in London."

"After that, we went home and stayed up watching television after my parents went to bed. He was so fascinated with making popcorn in the microwave, that he just kept popping it, until it caught on fire and set off the smoke detector. Then when my father came down to see what was going on, he sprayed water all over him with the sink hose."

"I was trying to put the fire out. If I could have used my wand, I would have just extinguished it like a normal person."

"My father was so furious, he started shouting at Ron and the neighbors thought we were being burgled so they called the police. My dad had to make up an excuse about Ron being a distant cousin from the outbacks of Australia and didn't understand about modern living, or they were going to arrest both of them for disturbing the peace."

"It's not my fault," Ron exclaimed. "You should have seen her house. It had more ekltricity and doodads than anything I've ever seen."

"Then to top everything else off," Hermione continued with a bitter look at Ron. "I finally calm my dad down and my mum gets him to go back to bed, but Ron insists he couldn't sleep if he was given double classes with Binns, so we put on a movie and he starts getting...physical, and my dad comes back downstairs to tell us to go to bed."

"I told you he wanted to murder me!" Ron exclaimed in frustration.

"He wouldn't have, if he hadn't caught us doing...things," Hermione shouted back.

"It was bloody late, he shouldn't have been up. And besides, you were the one that was...I couldn't have done that to myself you know!"

"I honestly thought my dad was going to have a stroke," Hermione said in exasperation. "It took my mum dragging him out of the room and Ron locking his bedroom door to save his neck."

"I thought I was going to have to send for the advanced guard to get me out of there," Ron said, folding his arms across his chest. The compartment was silent for all of thirty seconds, until Harry and Ginny exploded laughing. Ron and Hermione looked at them as though they had gone quite mad.

"Don't you see how funny it all is?" Ginny asked, wiping the tears from her face.

"I could just see you spraying water all over Hermione's dad," Harry said, holding his sides.

"And being caught like that," Ginny laughed.

"And I thought I was going to get strung up by your brothers," Harry said in an array of fits.

"Quit it," Ron shouted.

"It wasn't funny," Hermione exclaimed.

"Yes it is," Harry said.

"Oh, think about it from a different point of view," Ginny said after forcing herself under control. "What if it were Harry and I telling you that story? You'd be rolling on the floor."

"Think about it Ron," Harry said, wiping the tears from his face. "Can you imagine if your dad caught Ginny and I doing those things, what he would say?"

"He'd curse you into next week," Ron said, and then smiled slightly. "I guess it was sort of funny," he said, glancing across to Hermione.

"You should have seen your face, when you sprayed my dad," she said chuckling softly.

"Yeah, well you should have seen your mum's face when she saw you on your knees..."

"Ronald!" Hermione shouted, a deep blush creeping up her cheeks. "I can't believe they caught us practically shagging on the sofa," she said after a few minutes of enduring laughter from Harry and Ginny.

"God, I'm glad to be going back to school," Ron said with a smile. "I need a break."