Harry Potter and Unexpected Beginnings

Chapter thirty-nine

Harry and Ron hurried up the stairs to their dormitory, out of breath and late for History of Magic. They had forgotten their homework assignments, after staying up for most of the night working on their essays on the Witches of the First Millennium. Harry swung the door open and ran through, stopping so suddenly that Ron actually smacked into the back of him.

"Bloody hell, Harry!" Ron exclaimed, feeling the pain in his chest from where Harry's school bag had hit him. Harry didn't answer - he didn't have to. A sudden scream echoed from the bed across the room, as a loud thud hit the floor. Ron looked around his friend, seeing a very naked Neville scrambling to find his clothes, lying scattered around him. In the bed, hiding beneath the covers was a figure, small and shaking slightly. Lying exposed was a long thin leg tangled in the blankets.

"H...Harry...R...Ron," Neville stuttered, as he finally found his shirt and wrapped it around his waist, while sitting on the floor.

"Neville?" Ron asked, the shocked expression on his face echoed his feelings as he stared at the young man.

"I thought you weren't feeling well?" Harry couldn't believe he just said that, but the words were spoken regardless.

"I...I was...I mean I wasn't...I mean I was just...that is..."

"Who's that with you?" Ron asked, as Harry turned and stared at the red face of his best friend. Quietly, the blankets lowered and an equally red face peeked out from beneath the covers.

"Loony Luna?" Ron said, his tone a loud croak.

"Don't call her that," Neville said, standing from the floor suddenly, the shirt dropping from his hand.

"Bloody hell, Neville, get some clothes on," Harry said, diverting his eyes, as Neville bent quickly and picked the shirt back up, wrapping it around his waist. "Lets just get our homework and get to class," Harry said, hurrying to his bedside table and retrieving the parchment he'd been working on the night before. He turned back to Ron, rolling his eyes at his friend, who remained frozen in the same spot staring at the two in front of him.

"Ron, come on," Harry said, grabbing the parchment on Ron's bed and pulling him by the back of the robes, out the door. They walked together down to the common room with Ron looking behind him as though he were expecting the two upstairs to come bounding down behind them.

"What the hell did he bring her in to our dormitory for?" Ron asked, as they stepped through the portrait hole.

"You aren't that thick, Ron," Harry said in an angry tone. "You saw what we interrupted. You've been there yourself enough times."

"You know what I mean. She's a Ravenclaw, she shouldn't be in our house or even know our password."

"We'll have to talk to him later," Harry said.

"What's happening with him?" Ron asked seriously, turning to look at Harry. "I can handle him having a girl, even if it is Loony Luna, but now he's lying to get out of class, sneaking her into our house and into our dormitory and then getting caught shagging her."

"I don't know. It's really not like the Neville we've always known."

"Harry, do you remember how you were after...Sirius...you know?" Ron asked him, stopping close to Binns classroom. "Do you think he's reacting to his mum's death? Maybe he's like you were, you know with all the exercising and stuff. Maybe he's using her to kind of feel alive."

"I think I can understand how he must be feeling," Harry said. "I think maybe that's why I didn't want Ginny and I to...you know. I was afraid I'd be using her to feel something other than my own grief."

"I've never lost anyone like that, but I think I could probably relate. I know how I felt when my dad was in the hospital last year. If Hermione and I were together back then, maybe I would have been acting like Neville is."

"I doubt Hermione would have let you keep your neck, if you'd tried."

"I'm really worried about him, Harry. If he is the fifth point of the stars, we need to get his head back together before we need him."

"Even if he's not the fifth point, we still need to be there for him. We've never even spoken to him about his mother, since we returned from Christmas holidays. Friends need to be there for each other and we haven't been."

"So now we have to get all mushy and start talking about feelings?" Ron asked with a disgusted look on his face. "That's worse then when Hermione wants to talk."

"He's our friend, Ron. We need to talk to him. At the very least, we need to make sure he doesn't bring anyone else into our dormitory."

"Okay, but there better not be any crying," Ron grumbled.

"Why, Hermione complain when you start?" Harry asked with a snicker, as he walked into History of Magic and took his seat.

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Ron and Harry had told the girls about Neville and it was decided that they should indeed speak with him. Hermione was near hysterics when she learned he had brought an outsider into their house and it took all three of them to calm her down and keep her from going straight to McGonagall. They now sat at the corner table in the common room long after most of the other students retired, waiting for Neville to return from his date with Luna. The only one left in the common room, was the tiny little first year girl, sitting alone by the fireplace. Harry glanced to her, recognizing her from their first night back to Hogwart's. With a sigh, he walked over to where she sat reading the same book she'd been looking at for the past twenty minutes, without turning the page. He sat down next to her, smiling as she turned to look at him.

"Hello. I'm Harry," he said smiling at her.

"I know, everyone knows you," she said, forcing a smile across her tiny face. "I'm Sabrina Wagtail."

"It's very nice to meet you, Sabrina. What are you reading?" The little girl looked at Harry in surprise.

"Don't you want to know about my father?" she asked him. Harry shrugged.

"Why? Is he a student here?"

"No. He's Myron Wagtail. He's the lead singer for the Wicked Sisters."

"My dad was James Potter. He was a chaser for Gryffindor. At least we got that out of the way."

"Aren't you going to ask me for my dad's autograph, or something?" Sabrina asked with a frown.

"Why should I? It's you I'm talking to."

"But everyone else just wants to be my friend, because of who my dad is."

"I understand," Harry said with a warm smile. "When I first started here, most people wanted to be my friend because of my name too, or they were afraid because they thought I had some awesome power, so they avoided me. It was really annoying. Fortunately, I met Ron and Hermione and they didn't really care what I was, they just liked me for me. Then Ginny came the next year. I guess there're still people who look at me weird and everyone wants to see my scar."

"I don't," Sabrina said with a soft blush.

"Good, because I really hate showing it. Now, what are you reading?" Sabrina smiled happily, showing him her first year Potions book. "Ugh. I hated Potions, in fact I still do. But if you need help, Hermione is a great tutor and I know she won't ask for your dad's autograph either."

"I don't like Potions," she said honestly. "Professor Snape really scares me."

"Don't let him get to you. He just likes to make people think he's big and mean. He's really just a greasy haired git." Sabrina laughed, lowering her eyes and blushing. "If you need help with any of your subjects, just let us know. We'll be happy to help."

"Thank you Harry. I'm glad I have at least one friend here."

"You have more than that," Ginny said, as she Hermione and Ron sat down on the chairs surrounding Harry and the girl.

"We were all new here once too," Hermione said, glancing a warning to Ron to not open his mouth about the girl's parentage. "And we don't care who your father is. It's you that's important."

"Yeah, if we cared about people's families, we'd all go mental," Ron said with a genuine smile, surprising Hermione with his reactions. "I think Ferret-face is the only one who really cares about family blood lines."

"Ferret-face?" Sabrina asked, watching as Hermione punched the red head's arm.

"That's just Ron's name for Draco Malfoy," Harry said in defense of his friend.

"He's that blond boy from Slytherin, isn't he?"

"Yeah, that's him. The sludge of Hogwart's," Ron added, rubbing his shoulder.

"I've seen him on the Quidditch pitch at night, when I've sat in my window. He's always sitting in the bleachers staring at the skies."

"Are you sure?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, he's always there. He goes out there late at night and just sits there, like he's waiting for something." Harry exchanged glances with Hermione, as Ron and Ginny turned in time to see Neville return from his date. They stared at the rumpled appearance of the young man's clothing, his hair less than smooth, his cloak buttoned crookedly.

"Hey guys," Neville said as he entered the room.

"Hey Neville," Harry said.

"We've been waiting for you," Hermione added, a little less than friendly.

"Sabrina, would you mind if we continue our conversation later?" Harry asked with a smile. "What about over breakfast?"

"I'd love to," she said with a blush and a smile, as she stood up taking her book with her.

"Great, then we'll see you first thing tomorrow." Harry looked shocked when Sabrina suddenly reached out and hugged his neck, before hurrying up the stairs to her room.

"Looks like I may have something to be jealous of," Ginny said in a soft tone, receiving a smile from her boyfriend.

"Well, I'm going to bed," Neville said quickly. "Night."

"Not so fast," Hermione said again, standing and walking to the young man, her arms folded across her chest. "Do you realize how much trouble you could get into for having another student in our house?" she asked him. Neville looked from one set of eyes to the other, swallowing hard.

"She didn't hear the password," he told them quickly. "I put a deafening spell on her, before I said it. I promise, she didn't see anything or hear anything and she was never out of my sight."

"It's not just that Neville," Harry said. "We've all been really worried about you, since we heard about your mum. We're really sorry about your loss."

"My mum's death wasn't all that unexpected," he said softly. "The physicians warned us a long time ago, that my parents wouldn't live a long life."

"But that doesn't make it any easier," Ginny said, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"Look, Neville, we don't really care that you're shagging Loo...Luna," Ron said abruptly. "She's an all right girl. But we don't want you getting into trouble."

"We also don't want you failing any of your classes," Ginny told him.

"We're your friends Neville and we only want to make sure nothing happens." Harry couldn't help but feel a bit awkward as he watched his girlfriend practically hugging the young man's shoulder.

"I promise, it was our first time...I mean, it was her first time...I mean, I've never brought her here before. It won't happen again." Neville's face a brilliant red by the time he had finished trying to get his sentence out.

"We've all had our share of trying to find places to...be alone," Ginny said glancing to Harry and smiling. "But you really can't bring her here. You'll be in so much trouble if anyone else finds out."

"I won't do it again," her said in a soft voice.

"Listen Neville," Harry said, stepping to Ginny's side and wrapping his arms around her waist, as if to make certain his friend understood she was his. "If you need a place to...be alone, we can give you some hints and ideas. We've had to find out about places the hard way."

"Thanks," Neville said softly. "I think we've already found a place."

"Where?" Ron asked, a little more eager than intended and he realized it immediately when Hermione turned her disapproving stare to him.

"Well, it's just that we started thinking and figured the Room of Requirements seemed like a pretty good place. That is, when we're not in D.A."

"I've heard the room is rather convenient," Harry said with a smirk, as he exchanged glances with his other friends.

"Well, if that's it, I'm really tired and I still have my homework from today to catch up on," Neville said, leaving the others alone as he went to his room.

"If this keeps up, we're going to have to set up a schedule of who gets the room on what days," Ron grumbled again, receiving another punch from Hermione and a round of laughter from Harry and Ginny. It did seem as if all of Hogwart's sixth years, were starting to find a use for the room, other than their extra lessons and studies, Harry thought with a smile as they climbed the stairs to their separate rooms. It should be called the Room of Recreation, rather than the Room of Requirements. Nobody really had requirements, just a whole lot of desires.

Sabrina came bounding down the stairs with more enthusiasm than usual. Harry looked up as she took the last step and smiled as he stood up to greet her. She looked very pretty with her long blonde hair hanging across her shoulder and her bright blue eyes shining like sapphires in a creamy complexion. Harry wondered why it was none of the boys noticed the little girl, or how those a year or two older hadn't started paying attention to her. She had looks that promised to be extraordinary when she grew up.

"Good morning," Harry told her, holding his arm out for her to take. It wasn't until that moment that Harry noticed the three younger male students standing by the corner table. It seemed that none of them really cared much for the two of them being together, which made Harry rethink his last assumption.

"Hello Harry," Sabrina answered, taking his arm with a soft blush.

"Ready for breakfast? The others are already down in the Great Hall."

"Even your girlfriend?" Harry chuckled at the obvious darkening of the young girl's blush.

"You're not jealous are you?" he teased, watching as she lowered her eyes and smiled, causing him to chuckle again. "Ginny knows she has no competition, but you never know. In a year or two, she may have something to worry about." Harry nodded to the boys, as they started toward the portrait hole, stepping out into the passageway. Harry escorted the young girl down the stairs, taking particular note of the way several younger students noticed them. He felt awkward at first, until he realized how many were looking at Sabrina in complete awe. They stepped into the Great Hall and Harry led his new friend toward the elder students sitting near the head of the table. Those from the young girl's own year watched as he held her arm, helping her sit down at the table between himself and Neville, before sitting next to Ginny.

"Good morning Sabrina," Ginny said, holding Harry's hand under the table.

"We've been talking," Hermione began, looking across the table to the girl. "We met your sister at Ron's brothers' Valentine's Day part. Her husband Oliver is a friend of ours and we were thinking about getting together over Easter break and maybe visiting Hogsmeade. If you can get permission from your parents, maybe you'd like to join us?"

"I'd love to," Sabrina said, her face lighting up with excitement. "I can ask my mum and dad. I'm sure they'd agree if I were with Harry and if Margie joined us."

"We took the liberty of owling Oliver this morning," Hermione added.

"This is so cool," Sabrina said again. "I've never been to Hogsmeade before."

"You'll love it," Ginny told her. "It's a blast, especially Honeyduke's. They have the best candy. Well, except for my brothers, but Honeyduke's candy won't explode in your face, or turn you purple."

"Your brothers turn you purple?"

"Just their candy sometimes. They have a joke shop and they love playing pranks, especially on family."

"How awful," Sabrina said with a frown.

"It's not that bad. It's never permanent and they've made a lot of money with their stupid jokes."

"They won't turn me purple will they?" Harry looked at the little girl next to him, suddenly feeling what it must be like for Ron to have Ginny as a little sister. Compassion welled up in him and he put an arm around her shoulder without thought.

"We'll protect you," he promised her. "They wouldn't dare do anything to you, with the four of us there, or with Oliver. He was their Quidditch captain for several years you know."

"I didn't know that. Was Oliver any good?" Harry smiled at the little girl again.

"He was great. A little fanatic and a slave driver, but otherwise he wasn't bad. We won the House Cup two years ago because of Oliver's dedication to the game."

"So he's always been a little weird?" Ron snickered from across the table.

"Yeah, you could say that," the red head said. "He's a little too serious for my taste." The group continued talking about their decision to go to Hogsmeade, when a warm hand fell on Harry's shoulder. He looked up into the smiling round face of the red haired man.

"Charlie!" Ginny asked, standing up suddenly and hugging her older brother. "What are you doing here?"

"Since when does a guy need an excuse to visit his brother and sister?" Charlie answered, hugging his sister.

"I don't remember you ever visiting Hogwart's before," Ron said. "Except for fourth year and then for Buckbeak."

"Things change little brother," Charlie said, sitting on the other side of Ginny. "Gees, it doesn't seem like that long ago, when I was sitting here with my own class." Charlie picked up the food that appeared on the plate in front of him, tasting the eggs and sausage. "The food hasn't changed much. It's still great."

"How long are you staying?" Ginny asked, watching as he turned his head to her, looking directly at Harry.

"I'm not sure," Charlie answered, returning his attention to the food in front of him.

"What about your job?" Ron asked, with a frown. "Don't you need to be back to work?"

"I've taken a leave. I decided I needed some more time with the family."

"What's going on?" Hermione asked in a soft tone.

"Nothing to worry about. Don't you guys have a class soon, or have they changed the class times since I was here?"

"No, you're right," Hermione said, standing up from her seat. "We have to get going."

"I'll see you guys at lunch," Charlie said, looking at Harry again, his eyes focusing on those of the younger man's. "I need to speak to Dumbledore, but we should be finished by then." Harry watched as Ron and Hermione started down the isle to the door and then turned to Ginny.

"I'll see you later," he told her, kissing her cheek. Ginny looked at him with a frown, but nodded and left. "Did Professor Dumbledore tell you why he sent for you?" Harry asked, once they were alone.

"He said he needed to see me regarding something about you. Want to explain it?"

"Why don't we discuss this in private." Harry and Charlie turned to see the old wizard, wearing robes of green and yellow step up behind them. "We can use my office. Professor McGonagall, would you care to join us?" The old man turned to the aged witch behind him and smiled.

"What about class, sir?" Harry asked.

"I'm quite sure Hagrid will understand if you're not there." Harry nodded awkwardly and then followed the others out of the Great Hall and up to the second floor, where Dumbledore spoke the password to the gargoyle, who quickly leapt aside.

Once in his office in the top of the tower that overlooked the open grounds, he took his seat behind the desk, waiting as Professor McGonagall summoned three large wing back chairs and a tea tray.

"So, what's all this about?" Charlie asked, accepting the tea that poured itself in the china cup. "All your owl said was that you needed my help with Harry. Has something happened between him and Ginny I should contact my parents for?" Harry blushed openly, choking on the tea he had just sipped.

"No Mr. Weasley, it isn't anything of the sort," Dumbledore said, smiling at Harry's reaction. "Harry's powers seem to have taken a growth spurt. He's discovered the art Imago- figura. He's been able to use the lapis gelu spell against Professor Snape."

"Mr. Potter is this true?" Professor McGonagall asked and then realized she had practically called the Headmaster a liar. "Forgive me Albus," she said, smiling at the expression of amusement on the older man's face.

"I guess it's true," Harry answered.

"How did you learn Imago-figura?" Charlie asked, a deep frown creasing his brow.

"I don't know. It just sort of happened."

"Sound familiar, Mr. Weasley?" Dumbledore asked with a smile, as he looked over the rim of his half moon glasses.

"Professor Dumbledore said you know how to do this lapis gelu thing too," Harry said looking at the man who so closely resembled Ron.

"I do. It's been very helpful to me with my dragons. When did you first discover you could do it?"

"When I was working on Occlumency with Snape, even though I didn't need any more lessons. I remember getting angry with him because I didn't feel there was anything more he could teach me about Occlumency and it just happened. I saw one of his memories and thought he'd be furious with me, then the next thing I know he froze. It only lasted a couple of minutes, but each time it got longer."

"Have you been practicing the lapis gelu spell at all?"

"No. Until I told Ginny about it, I didn't even know what I was doing. Professor Dumbledore saw me do it and suggested you should teach me how to control it."

"I'd be happy to Harry. But I'm not sure if I'm the right person. I don't know how it happened the first time I did it, either. It came in handy though for getting a few extra minutes to finish my assignments."

"Mr. Weasley," Professor McGonagall snapped. "I do not think that is the sort of example you need to be setting for Mr. Potter."

"Professor, this is Harry Potter we're talking about here. If it hasn't already been done, I'm sure he'll find a way to do it." Harry blushed and Charlie laughed, causing the frown to deepen on Professor McGonagall's face and the smile to widen on Dumbledore's.

"I have already arranged for Mr. Potter to skip his Magical Creatures and Herbology lessons, so you may spend time with him," the Headmaster said. "He is already quite proficient in both, so his dropping those classes for the time being should not affect his O.W.L.s in the least."

"If you wish, I'll arrange guest quarters for you Mr. Weasley," Professor McGonagall said. Charlie smiled at the idea of having VIP status at his old school.

"I would appreciate it, since using the Floo network would be too obvious at the moment. When would you like to start your training, Harry?"

"The sooner the better," Harry said.

"I will arrange for you to take the rest of the day to practice," Dumbledore said, as he stood from his seat and stepped around the desk. "You may use the Room of Requirements. I believe you have a D.A. class this evening as well. Perhaps Mr. Weasley would care to assist you."

"What's the D.A.?" Charlie asked.

"It's a special DADA class we started last year," Harry said, glancing to Professor McGonagall watching the curious expression on her face. "We felt it was necessary since Umbridge wasn't teaching us anything about the Dark Arts, to practice what we knew and try some new spells."

"I'm impressed," Charlie said, patting the boy's shoulder with a warm chuckle. "Like I said, it's Harry Potter we're talking about."