The Beginning of My Life

Ginny's face appeared in the fireplace. The cottage was dark: the only light filling the room came from the window. Hmm...must be raining there or something.

"Harry?" She looked around and found him napping in his bed fully clothed with his glasses askew. How cute. She grinned and cleared her throat loudly. "I know you're getting ready to go to the ministry and NOT sleeping." Harry bolted upright, scratching his head.

"Huh? I..." His eyes finally focused. "Oh, right. Of course I am." Ginny laughed as he cursed, nearly falling over the chair by his bed. She observed him from the fireplace--he definitely looked much better than when she had first seen him. His thinned face and body now had more substance; he looked good.

He had turned away from her to change his shirt. Harry grabbed the bottom hem of his t-shirt and pulled it up over his head. Ginny looked away for a moment out of politeness, but couldn't help but catch a glimpse of the lean muscles of his bare back. She blushed and glanced up toward the ceiling deciding that the light fixture was interesting.

"Anyways, I just wanted to make sure you were getting ready." Harry turned back around after he finished changing into a clean white wife-beater.

"Thanks. I probably wouldn't have woken up for a few more hours. Are you already done getting ready?"

"Me? No, I was just about to get ready. Thomas is already over there preparing to greet people." Harry walked over to his closet and pulled out the dress robes he had ordered the other day. "Oh, did you get a chance to invite Andria?" Ginny added quickly; Harry glanced back at her curiously before answering.

"Hah. I still haven't seen her since the first time I met her. I probably scared her off somehow."

"Don't be ridiculous. She's probably just been busy..."

"Or not," he interjected. Ginny sighed; she was just trying to make Harry feel better, but he wasn't cooperating. Who is this Andria anyways? What kind of person pretends to make friends with a person and then never shows up again?

"Well, tonight should be fun! I'm going to get dressed. See you in an hour," she said as cheerfully as possible before vanishing from the fireplace.

* * * *

As soon as Ginny disappeared, Harry changed into his dress robes. He thought about possibly combing his hair, but decided it'd be pointless. Never has worked, never will. After he finished getting ready to leave, not even bothering to look at himself in the mirror, he pocketed his wand and decided he'd better use the fireplace to get to Ron and Hermione's place.

There was a brief second of disorientation as he stepped onto the wooden floor of their living room.

"Ron? Hermione?" He heard voices coming from upstairs; they didn't seem to notice him call. Harry glanced around at the state of his friends' new house--books, papers, files all strewn about and stacked in odd places on one half of the room, and complete order and organization on the other side. He laughed quietly.

On one of their desks he saw a picture of Ron and Hermione. It must have been recent: they were in the ministry and Hermione was sitting at a desk while Ron tried to get her to stop working to smile at the camera. Harry grinned as the Hermione in the picture smiled briefly before turning back to her work. The Ron in the picture hugged her anyways, smiling widely. Staring at his best friends in this picture reminded him of how perfect they were together. He was happy for them, and then he felt a pang of loneliness. His mind flashed him an image of him and Ginny from a long time ago. He shook his head and the image was replaced by one of him and Andria that day he first met her. Jesus. One is married and one has pretty much rejected me already.

"Hey! You two ready to go, or not?" Harry yelled, distracting himself from his thoughts.

The voices from upstairs stopped. Ron soon came down the stairs pocketing his wand in his new dress robes. Harry grinned remembering the Yule Ball. As opposed to the "dress-robes-which-shall-never-be-spoken-of-again," Ron's attire was very similar to Harry's this time: the outsides of their robes were stark black and appeared much like tuxedos. On the inside of the cloak, however, Harry's was lined with a dark emerald green, while Ron's was lined with deep ocean blue. "Ron, looking sharp this time..."

"Don't even think of mentioning the last time we wore dress robes," Ron interrupted. "I'm warning you." Harry put his hands up in mock defense.

"...Just trying to give you a compliment. Is Hermione ready to go?" Ron shook his head.

"That woman upstairs? Nope. Hair and all that other female stuff is done...she just needs to put on her gown-dress thing." Hermione chose this moment to carefully climb down the stairs. Harry and Ron were both dumbstruck.

She was beautiful. Her make up was delicate and simple. Her hair was done up in a loose bun with wisps framing her face and a few strands falling gracefully down her back. The dress she had chosen to wear somewhat matched the deep blue color of Ron's robes. It was a long, elegant, off-the-shoulder gown with a stunning corset bodice. Harry couldn't help but smile; he always knew Hermione was pretty when others hadn't seemed to notice. Tonight he was positive she was going to turn some heads.

Hermione stopped at the bottom of the stairs and looked at them expectantly. Glancing at the look of awe on Ron's mesmerized face, Harry walked forward to give her a hug.

"Well aren't you both looking handsome tonight," Hermione said cheerfully.

"You look incredible, Hermione." He backed up enough to nudge Ron in the shoulder. "Don't you agree? Ron?" Hermione blushed when Ron didn't answer and simply kept staring. Harry hit him harder with his elbow in an attempt to break Ron's momentary paralysis.

"Ow! I mean, yes. I mean...you look amazing, Hermione." Ron smiled sheepishly. Harry rolled his eyes.

"Married, are you? Feels like we're back at Hogwarts..." Harry ducked as Ron, who was now blushing deep red, reached out to smack him. "About time we head out, wouldn't you say?" Hermione laughed and pushed Ron towards their front door.

"Let's go!" she commanded.

* * * *

By the time they reached the Ministry there were already quite a few witches and wizards there and mingling. It was just a few minutes before they were greeted by Mrs. Weasley and Remus Lupin. Mrs. Weasley grasped Harry, Hermione, and Ron in tight embraces, as Remus nodded to them with a smile.

"Oh it's wonderful to see you dears here! Have you all been eating properly?" Mrs. Weasley began shooting off questions immediately. Harry suddenly realized how much he had missed this woman who had been the only real mother figure he'd ever known. As she tugged at their clothing, "fixing" it, and pouring over how wonderful they all looked she led them to the main room where most people had gathered. As they moved toward the doorway, the person who had been greeting people suddenly started to approach him.

"Harry, it's nice to finally meet you!" The man reached out to shake his hand.

"It's nice to meet you too..." Harry tried desperately to guess who he was talking to. The man had sandy brown hair and a kind, but firm, expression--it gave him the impression that this was a ministry official. He seemed to be relatively young, probably the same age as Harry, and was greeting people at the door...Wait. This couldn't be...

"Oh! I'm Thomas, Ginny's husband." Thomas smiled apologetically before turning to the Weasleys next to Harry. After shaking Ron and Hermione's hands and giving Mrs. Weasley a hug, he began talking about ministry business, mainly to Ron and Hermione. So this is Thomas. Thomas, Ginny's husband. Ginny's husband, Thomas. Harry zoned out, lost in his own thoughts, until he heard the conversation switch to Artemis Will.

"...Artemis came early so that he'd get a head start at greeting the wizards. Our dinner table is next to his." Thomas glanced around for a moment, looking for someone. "I wonder where Gin wondered off to. She's been waiting for you all to arrive..."

"Did I hear my name over here?" Ginny's voice sounded from behind them. When Harry turned to see Ginny, she was hugging Hermione and praising how wonderful she looked. Hermione returned the compliment and made Ginny turn around so that she could get a look at the back of Ginny's gown.

Harry stood there utterly captivated. She was breathtaking. Her hair was curled and put up in a simple bun with strands of her fiery hair framing her face. Her gown was a dark, royal purple satin dress and ruched on the sides of her body down to her hips--accentuating the curves of her body. From her hips down, the dress fell gracefully to the floor. The strapless gown was certainly wrapped around her body in a very enticing way. And, for extra measure, as if this dress wasn't perfect enough, he noticed that there was a slit on the left side--exposing some of her pale, slender leg. Harry's mouth went dry.

"So you did stay awake after I woke you up," Ginny teased as she went to give him a hug. Harry snapped out of his stupor and returned the embrace. For a moment, he breathed in the scent of her hair. Still flowery. The scent brought back blissful memories and Harry found himself aching to be with her like they had been long ago. "Harry?" Ginny asked tentatively. Suddenly he realized they'd been hugging for a bit longer than generally accepted and let go abruptly. I hope no one was watching. She looked into his eyes with a bit of concern. "Are you okay?" Fantastic. Now she probably thinks I was depressed or something. Smooth move, Harry Potter. Get lost in nostalgia and forget that she's married? Think of something to say! Now!

"I..." Harry glanced over at Thomas for a second, who luckily was distracted by Ron telling him about something that happened to him in the office. "I'm just glad to see another person I know here...tons of people showed up before us apparently," he finished in the most normal tone he could muster. She smiled looking around at all the wizards and witched mingling in the room.

"I see what you mean...I don't think I know half of these people..."

Harry sighed inwardly as they all decided to head towards their dinner table--Thomas and Ginny leading the way. The two of them walking together side by side, with her arm linked with his, made Harry feel a twinge of jealousy. Quickly, he pushed those thoughts involving Thomas away. It's just because I'm a bit lonely. That's all. Thomas seems like a good guy...

Once seated at their dinner table, Harry noticed Hermione giving him shrewd looks every once in a while. When he asked her what she wanted she simply shook her head and replied "Oh...nothing." Annoyed, he fumbled with his hands while they waited for most of the room to settle down at their tables--which was going to take a good amount of time considering the number of wizards and witches in this enormous room.

Finally, a fairly robust looking man with black hair walked over to the table next to theirs and sat down in the middle seat for a few moments. He leaned over and whispered something to the witch next to him before he stood up and put his wand to his throat.

"Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen of the Wizarding World," the man began very amiably. "Thank you for coming to our great celebration! As some of you already know, I am Artemis Will..." There was loud applause sounding throughout the room and Artemis smiled warmly. "Thank you, but all the applause should go to everyone else in the Ministry for all the devotion and hard work they put in to completely restructuring the Ministry's departments. Would all the members of the Ministry please stand up and accept our gratitude." Hermione and Ron grinned at each other as they both stood, along with many other in the dining room. Artemis paused to glance around the vast room and seemed to eye every member of the Ministry with genuine appreciation. This time the applause lasted quite some time before Artemis raised his hands for everyone to quiet down. "Now let me introduce the Head of each department..."

This is where Harry began to daydream about nothing in particular. Suddenly he was taken back to reality when it seemed like the end of Artemis' speech.

"And just before we dig into our meals and get on with the celebrating. I just want to really thank you all for coming once again. We truly are privileged to have such accomplished and respected guests here tonight..." Artemis specifically glanced at Harry during that last part, but only for a second. And, much to Harry's relief, that was the only public mention, or hint, that the "famous Harry Potter" was in the room. "Now, please let your minds wander to thoughts of food and enjoy!"

Everyone thought on what they wanted for a few minutes until finally every plate was filled with food catering to each wizard's desire. Kind of reminds me of Hogwarts banquets.

Glancing at everyone at the table and how much they seemed to enjoy their dinner and conversation, Harry felt strangely welcomed, but distant at the same time. Maybe I'll get a drink. Asking quickly if anyone else wanted something from the bar out of politeness, he made his way through the crowded room. When he finally reached his destination he let out a sigh of relief and heard someone chuckle lightly behind him.

"Fairly crowded in here, eh?" Harry turned to see it was Artemis Will behind him. He smiled tentatively and extended his hand. The Minister took it gladly and ordered himself a glass of wine from the bartender. "It's nice to finally meet you, Harry. Ron and Hermione have told me many great things about you...I'm very thankful that you were able to come to the party." Harry nodded and ordered a few glasses of champagne for his table.

"Ron and Hermione have told me many good things about you as well, Minister."

"Artemis, please. Minister makes it sound so formal. Or better yet, Arty..." Artemis sat down at the bar next to Harry. "Now, down to business..." Great, here it comes. Harry prepared himself for an onslaught of ministry affairs. "How's the country?"

Harry stared at him with blatant confusion. Huh? "Um...fantastic?"

"Hermione's told me it's got a breathtaking view..." And so he went on for a bit about how he'd always wanted to retire in the countryside and such. Harry listened to him ramble skeptically, and finally he had to ask--

"Are you planning on asking me about anything...having to do with Ministry business?" Artemis looked at him blankly for a moment before his expression changed to apologetic.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did you want to talk about the ministry?" Harry was taken aback before he felt suddenly guilty for assuming the worst.

"No, I'm sorry. I'm not used to...casual conversations with the Minister of Magic," he said quickly as he took a sip of champagne after the bartender set down the drinks. "I assumed you had some...other reason for talking to me. From what Ron had told me I shouldn't have thought you would." Artemis shook his head sympathetically.

"I understand," he replied simply. "I remember the last few ministers and I trust they don't bring back happy memories--never liked them much. They didn't seem to get much done other than make a laughing-stock out of the Ministry...morons." Harry smiled, Ron's right, I think I will like this Minister.

Arty glanced over his shoulder and sighed as he looked at the crowd. "Relax, Harry. It's a celebration after all." He lifted his glass towards Harry's and smiled with a nod. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to try and find my way back to my table." Harry nodded in return, feeling better about the evening somehow--his little chat with the Minister actually lightened his mood. Maybe I should get these drinks back to the table. He glanced at the line of drinks for him to carry and suddenly felt stupid for offering to get six drinks. Just as he was about to see if he could gently levitate the drinks overhead, he heard a familiar voice next to him.

"Need a hand?" Harry turned and saw Andria looking at him with a faint smile on her lips. "How have you been, Harry?"