Harry Potter and Unexpected Beginnings

Chapter thirty-two

With the holidays behind them, the foursome were able to settle into a somewhat normal routine. Quiddich practices began on schedule and classes were as always, loaded down with assignments and homework. Ron and Hermione had managed to somehow salvage their relationship, and in the three weeks since restarting school, they had been caught twice in a deserted classroom snogging - or worse, which earned them two full weeks of detention with Filch and McGonagall.

The weather had proven to be anything other than friendly, and Harry had been forced to call off practice once already this week, which didn't help much with his dark mood. He had so far managed to earn demerits from Snape as well as Trelawney, and had even gotten his face slapped by Ginny when he told her to "bugger off" after she offered to help him with his Divinations assignment, and it was only Thursday.

The common room was quiet with the majority of the students already in bed. Harry was sitting alone at the table in the corner of the room, trying to work out a schedule so he could fit in D.A. lessons. He had managed to cut his sleeping down to an hour and a half, and work out extra Dark Arts lessons with Tonks, Deadly Potions and Antidotes lessons with Snape, Advanced Transfigurations with McGonagall, the D.A. meetings twice a week and Quiddich practice every evening. He was sure he could manage to a nap in between classes with Hagrid and history lesson with Binns, which would leave enough time to eat. Now, if he could only manage to figure out when to get his homework done, he may actually survive this year.

"Want some help?" Ginny asked looking over his shoulder. Harry instantly felt the sting in his cheek return, and a warning in his head telling him not to turn her offer down again.

"I don't know what you can help with," he said softly, pushing the papers aside and rubbing his eyes. "I'm trying to work out a schedule to accommodate everything I have to do."

"Can I look?" she asked, and he pushed the papers closer to her. An hour later she had managed to work out a schedule that not only accommodated everything he had to do, but worked in and hour for Quiddich practices five nights a week and two lessons for the D.A. a week, and still got him a full nights sleep.

"I don't know how you just did that, but I thank you," he told her examining the papers she handed back to him.

"Sometimes it just takes another mind to see things clearly," she told him with a warm smile. Harry frowned, looking at the space she allotted from seven to seven thirty every night, which was marked with a big red S.B.

"What's this?" he asked, trying to figure out what class he had that started with S.B.

"You don't have to keep it, if you don't want to," she said with a sad expression.

"What is it?"

"It stands for study break. I thought maybe we could manage a few minutes together between everything else you have planned." Harry rolled up the parchment and placed it in his pack, then reached for her hand, pulling her onto his lap.

"I wouldn't dare change such a well thought out itinerary," he told her, kissing her neck.

"I just wanted some time with you, I've missed you Harry."

"I've missed you too, Gin. I'm sorry; I know I've been short tempered lately. I shouldn't have taken it out on you."

"It's all right I guess," she smiled wickedly, touching the cheek she had slapped. "I know how to catch your attention."

"No kidding," he grimaced, and then smiled when she leaned in and kissed his cheek. "At least I know better than to get you angry with me again."

"Yeah right. I have a feeling you're comfortable enough with our relationship that you'll say what you want, when you want. And it's all right with me, provided you don't mind the consequences."

"That means I'm going to need to get my face toughened up, if we're going to continue dating."

"Are you saying you want out?" she asked, sitting up straight on his lap. Harry chuckled, standing up and gathering her in his arms, carrying her to the sofa.

"There's only one way I'll want out," he told her laying her on the sofa and covering her slender frame with his longer one, any thought of where they were or the possibility of getting caught never entering his mind. "When the earth splits open and falls out of space, I may consider leaving you. Until then you're stuck with me baby, so get used to the idea."

"Baby?" she snickered softly, as he bent down and started kissing her neck. "You have a lot of interesting names for me, you know that?"

"Which ones do you like the most?"

"So far you've called me darling, angel, my love and now baby. Oh, and don't forget my least favorite, Virginia."

"So, which one do you want me to call you by?"

"How about Ginny, I like how it sounds coming from you."

"You don't want any endearing words of love and tenderness?" he teased, slipping his hand beneath the hem of her nightgown, pulling it slowly up her legs.

"Sometimes it might be nice, but not all the times. I just want to make sure you know who it is in your arms."

"Trust me, I know who is in my arms. There's only one girl who will ever be in my arms, and that's...what's her name."

"I'm going to hurt you for that," she growled, turning in his arms so he could work his hands up higher on her body.

"If this is any indication of the torture you're capable of, I think I'd like to go the limits."

"Harry we can't do this, we're in the common room," Ginny argued, trying with very little effort to stop him from slipping his hand beneath her knickers.

"Would you like to try the Astronomy Tower," he asked, kissing his way down her neck toward her chest.

"No, but we can't do this here. Anyone could come in and catch us."

"Then suggest something fast, because I'm not letting you go tonight." Ginny's mind was racing, but nothing was coming to her. She couldn't think clearly with his hands and lips doing such wonderful things to her.

"I have an idea," he whispered, rising up from the sofa. "Stay here. I'll be right back." He hurried up the stairs to his dormitory, reappearing a few minutes later with his invisibility cloak in one hand and the Marauder's Map in the other.

"Come with me," he told her, tapping the end of his wand to the map and saying, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." The map revealed the entire layout of the school, with the dots of every person on the grounds. He watched the dots marked Mrs. Norris and Filch who were on the ground floor, and Dumbledore who was in his office. Other than that, there were no moving dots anywhere to be found. Harry slipped his cloak across his shoulders and pulled Ginny beneath it. They stepped through the portrait hole and into the corridor, walking slowly and cautiously down the hall. A few moments later and they stopped in front of their destination on the seventh floor. Harry checked his map once more before slipping out from beneath the cloak, pacing back and forth three times, thinking of the place he had imagined. Suddenly a door appeared and Harry turned to where he knew Ginny was standing still beneath the invisibility cloak. He reached his hand out and took hers, opening the door and leading her in. Inside was a warm room, with a large fireplace, candles lining the walls, glowing softly. In the center of the room stood a large four-poster bed, with a large pale blue comforter and a dozen fluffy pillows.

"Harry it's beautiful," she whispered, allowing him to lift her and carry her to the middle of the bed.

"I should have thought about this a long time ago," he told her as he stretched out beside her.

"I'm just glad you thought of it now," she giggled as he began undressing her.

"Give me time, and I'll think of lots of things," he assured her, and for the rest of the night he kept his promise, in many wonderful and exciting ways.

Breakfast Friday morning was a much calmer, more relaxed event for most of the students. Harry and Ginny had managed to get back to their own rooms just in time for the alarms to go off, to wake everyone up. They were tired, not having gotten much sleep the night before, but somehow they really didn't mind much.

With the storm ending during the night, the students were eagerly discussing plans to got outside for a brief reprieve from the stuffy castle. The morning owls were beginning to arrive, and Harry glanced up just in time to see Hedwig bringing his Daily Prophet. He offered her a piece of toast and untied the paper from her leg. The hall was beginning to come alive with excited chatter, as all the students turned and stared at the Gryffindor table.

"What's going on?" Ron asked, seeing several students glance to him and whisper to another sitting closer by.

"Holy cow Ron," Harry said unrolling his paper. "Your dad has been named as the new Minister of Magic!"

"What!" Ron snatched to paper from Harry's hands and began reading the article, looking at the picture of his father and mother, happily waving from the front page.

"New Minister of Magic Named," he read aloud. "Late last night the governors named a new Minister of Magic, appointing the long time member of the Ministry, Arthur Weasley as the new Minister. Mr. Weasley, head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts department, has been known throughout the wizarding world as a loyal member of the defense against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and has proven himself time and again as a worthy and noble friend to Albus Dumbledore. Mr. Weasley, as you may recall, is one of the few supporters to Harry Potter and believed in his story that the Dark Lord had returned to power. It was this paper that first printed the warning, that young Mr. Potter had battled and escaped the treacherous clutches of the Dark Lord two years ago, during the Triwizard Tournament, when young Cedric Diggory had been ruthlessly murdered by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

"First to report," snorted Hermione. "It was Luna's dad who first reported the return of..."

"Shh, Hermione, let him finish," Neville said, leaning closer to hear the news.

"Mr. Weasley is the proud father of a multitude of children, two of which are currently attending Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Another of the many sons of Mr. Weasley's, Percy, was assistant to the late head of the Department for International Cooperation, Mr. Bartemius Crouch Sr. His only daughter, Jenny, is a chaser on the Gryffindor House Team at school, and his youngest son, John is the team's star Keeper."

"Jenny," Ginny scoffed, stuffing a piece of toast in her mouth.

"What about me, my name is John now," Ron complained.

"Ron, your dad has been named as the new Minister of Magic," Hermione interrupted. "Surely you can overlook a few misprints, and focus on the good news."

"Bloody hell," Ron said, his mind finally registering the news. "My dad is the Minister of Magic."

'Congratulations," Harry said, patting the boy on the back. "I guess this means a lot will change for you now."

"Don't worry, I'll still remember all the little people," Ron said with a wicked grin. "What was your name again?" Harry slugged his friend in the arm, and Hermione hugged his neck.

"I don't believe it," Ginny said. "Why didn't mum tell us?"

"The paper said the decision was just made last night, maybe she didn't have a chance," Harry said, kissing her cheek. "I'm sure it wasn't a deliberate oversight."

"Here," Ron said pulling out a letter addressed to them in his mother's handwriting. He pulled the ties off the parchment and began reading it.

"Dearest Children, please forgive us for not writing sooner. By now you no doubt have heard the good news. Your father is the new Minister of Magic! I am so proud of him. We will be meeting this Saturday at Hogsmeade for a family celebration, and Professor Dumbledore has granted the four of you permission to join us. Please be at Madame Puddifoot's sharply at three o'clock, and dress in your best robes. The press will be there to take pictures."

"Bloody hell," Ron said again.

"The four of us?" Ginny said looking at Harry and smiling. "Isn't it wonderful. You and Hermione are now part of the 'multitude of children'."

"Come on," Hermione said, taking note of the time. "We have to get to class." The four left the Great Hall much slower than normal, as so many students had to stop and pat Ron on the back and congratulate both he and Ginny.

Classes that morning was a mixture of excitement and questions. Everyone wanted to talk to Ron, and for the first time since Harry knew him, he was happy his best friend was getting all the attention for a change. Hermione and Harry watched the glow of pride on their friend's face, and stood behind him, allowing him to gloat as teachers congratulated him and complimented his father. Even during lunch, the comments continued. Harry noticed that Dumbledore sat with a proud smile on his face, watching as Ron continued to get congratulated. Unfortunately, many girls also wanted to congratulate him, offering him kisses and asking him if he would like to study with them sometime. This naturally, did not sit well with Hermione, who glared at the girls and punched Ron in the arm so hard, when he slipped and told Parvati Patil that he would think about it, that his hand went numb for several moments.

Potions class was its usual array of dimly lit candles, damp walls and musty smells. Harry sat next to Neville, who had just finished taking another dose of his potion; only this one was the first of the substitute potion. They had run out of the real courage potion last week, and Hermione had insisted that it was too dangerous to keep him on the real stuff, so they recreated the taste, in pure water. Now was the moment of truth, whether Neville had grown accustomed to the courage he'd gained over the past few months, or whether Snape still had an effect on him.

Ron and Hermione were sitting behind Harry and Neville, and Ron was trying his best to contain his temper with the Slytherin's constant jibbing him about his father's appointment. Hermione kept a warm hand on his leg and would squeeze it whenever he looked like the teasing was getting to him. Malfoy was back to his usual sneer, though he kept his comments to himself. He listened to the constant ridicule and comments offered by his fellow housemates, but refused to say a word either pro or con.

"Class will come to attention," Snape said as he entered the room, gliding in his usual black form to the front of the class. "I'm sure we're all overjoyed with the news of Weasley's appointment to the Minister of Magic, but one famous student in the class is enough," he finished staring at Harry. The Slytherins snickered happily at the comment, receiving only a dark look from Harry, Neville, Ron and Hermione, along with the rest of the Gryffindors.

"Today we will continue studying the varieties of truth serums, with the recreation of the Veritaserum, the strongest most powerful of all truth serums. Three drops will have you spilling your inner most secrets. If it works correctly, the taker will tell you anything you wish answered, if made incorrectly, the mind of the taker will be a jumbled mess, neither knowing what is truth and what isn't. For those of you who have difficulty recreating simple potions," Snape said glancing down to Neville and frowning, "I have an antidote. Now get busy, you only have an hour to complete this potion, and don't forget, this will be a part of your N.E.W.T.S, so study it well."

The next hour was spent in silence, the only noise was that of clanking utensils on the sides of the caldrons and chopping of knifes. Harry and Neville worked separately, aware that Snape was watching them closely. This would normally have made Neville a jumble of nerves, but with the courage potion, he was settled and calm, working without fear and able to concentrate on the task at hand. Harry couldn't believe the placebo effect was working so well. Neville had no idea he wasn't under the spell of the real potion, and Harry wasn't about to tell him otherwise.

When Snape stood up again, the students looked up at him, watching him pace the room, inspecting the different caldrons. He looked at Malfoy's, lifting a spoon of the potion and smiling with wicked pleasure.

"Perfect as usual Mr. Malfoy," he said, then glanced around at the Gryffindors. He had been confused over Neville's reactions to him lately, and was eager to learn the secret behind it. He stepped up to Neville's caldron, and lifted the spoon, frowning.

"Well, lets see if Longbottom's got what it takes to make a decent wizard," Snape said. "Or are you afraid?" Neville stood up, confronting the greasy haired man face to face, then picked up the bottle of potion he had set aside for grading. Harry's heart began to beat furiously. There was nothing he could do to help his friend this time, he didn't have any treats from the twins with him, and nothing he could think of saying would cause a difference in Snape.

"Three drops will have you telling me your entire life's story, which I do not care to listen to," Snape said, an evil grin on his pasty face. "So one drop should suffice for this class." He opened the stopper to the bottle and placed a dropper into the dark liquid, lifting the drop up for his pupil.

Neville took the dropper without concern, placing the liquid on his tongue. He looked up at his Professor, as Harry waited with baited breath.

"Now then Mr. Longbottom," Snape said in a patronizing tone. "Tell me, has anyone been helping you these past weeks with your potions?"

"No," Neville said firmly.

"And has anyone been substituting their potions for yours?"

"No."

"Then how is it you've suddenly become so well skilled in the art of Potions?" Snape growled bitterly.

"I followed your directions," Neville said with a smile. Snape sneered at him, as several students began to snicker.

"Tell me, Mr. Longbottom. How is it you have finally decided to follow instructions properly? Tell me, what made the difference in you?"

"You finally started writing legibly," Neville said in a calm tone.

"You are above all the most irritating, irrational, worst excuse for a wizard as I've ever seen," Snape barked, turning to step back to his seat.

"And you are a greasy haired, beak nosed, pasty faced vampire with the worst breath I've ever smelled," Neville said in the most calm manner anyone had ever heard. Snape turned on his heel, staring at the boy through the silence of the room. Nobody spoke; it was as if everyone were holding their breaths, waiting for the explosion.

"What did you just say?" Snape asked.

"I said, you are a greasy haired, beak nosed..."

"I heard you the first time," Snape growled. "One hundred points from Gryffindor, and you will serve a full week's detention."

"You can't do that," Harry snapped, standing up for his friend. "He didn't do anything wrong, he just answered your question."

"Fifty more points for your audacity, Potter," Snape said. "And you can share in your friend's detention. Be here tonight at nine o'clock. Class is dismissed."

'I can't believe he took a hundred points from Gryffindor, just for doing what was asked," Dean grumbled, as the climbed the stairs out of the dungeons.

"Bloody hell," Ron complained. "I wonder if my dad can do anything to get him fired."

"I'm sorry you got detention with me, Harry," Neville said.

"I'm just glad he didn't ask if you were taking any potions or spells," Harry commented.

"What about the D.A.?" Seamus asked. "We have lessons tonight."

"Hermione will have to lead it," Harry told them. "I can catch Neville up on the lessons separately, and if we get finished with old Beak-nose early enough, we'll join you."

"I still can't believe an entire week and a hundred and fifty points," Ron grumbled.

This was going to be a really fun week, Harry thought. An entire week with Snape, plus classes and secret Potions lessons. He was sure to go mad before the week was over.