Chapter 35: New Beginning
"Bloody hell," Ron Weasley said as he, Harry, Neville, and Richard Coote, stood waiting for Demelza, Hermione, Luna, and Ginny in the Gryffindor Common Room. The students had already been treated to a few fireworks displays and some feasts since the opening ceremony. On this night the first of the promised dances that McGonagall had promised for the coming year was to be held. It was being called the Victory Ball, and the four of them had all gotten dates to attend it.
The four boys were all wearing their dress robes and looking very presentable and distinguished, as distinguished as a group of eighteen year olds can look, and each had a corsage for their date. In typical male fashion, their dress robes were pretty much the same, but each of them was wearing something unique as well. Ron had a lily, Demelza's favorite flower, pinned over the left side of his chest. Richard wore a silver belt buckle that bore his family crest, displayed proudly and big enough for any who were looking to see, and Neville wore a unicorn button Luna had given him earlier.
Harry had decided to break with tradition a little and was dressed in a long sleeved white dress shirt, dark dress slacks, and a vest with the Gryffindor house colors. He was also wearing a few unique accessories that he had gained in the past while.
During dinner the first day of the term, Harry was announced as head boy. With this he was given a badge, similar to a prefects badge, and tonight he wore it on the left side of his vest. He also wore his medal around his neck, and it rested just under his chest. Throughout the whole time that he, Ron, and Richard had been waiting in the common room, Ron, Neville, and Richard had been eyeing Harry's medal and asking to touch it and feel the engravings.
At the point they were now, they were all growing slightly impatient, except for Harry, who had learned the art of extreme patience from his time with Sean. Harry decided to help the wait go by faster and began to speak.
"Did I ever tell you about the time Sean broke my nose when he was training me?" Harry asked out loud. Ron and Richard's interest peaked at this as they shook their heads. Harry ended up entertaining them with stories about his time at the monastery in Ireland for another fifteen minutes.
Meanwhile, up in the girl's dormitory, Ginny, Luna, who had come by early to help her friends prepare, and Demelza, who were all dressed and ready, were trying in vain to convince Hermione that she looked fine.
"For the last time," Demelza said with an air of impatience, "you look wonderful. Harry would have to be blind, and a vegetable not to notice that."
Hermione gave a sigh and then stood on her feet to look at herself in the mirror. She had been spending a lot of time getting ready; she wanted to look perfect for her Harry. Her hair was styled very elegantly, just as it had been when she went to the Yule Ball almost four years ago, and she wore a beautiful light blue sleeveless dress. It hugged the curves of her mature and fully developed body, and the girls were sure that Harry would be drooling when he finally saw her.
The other girls were dressed nicely as well. Ginny wore a modest silk dress, which hugged her toned and athletic body very nicely. And also wore the iron crucifix Sean had given her around her neck, constantly averting her eyes to it and hoping that wherever he was, all was well. Due to her father's financial status, Luna was able to have a very elegant light purple dress, and it looked great on her. Demelza wore a pink goblin-made dress, which also accentuated her athletic, curvaceous, and fully developed body. She also wore a sash Ron had given her, which she had only accepted after he promised it wasn't something he had picked up at the shop.
The four of them had taken turns doing each other's hair and had had a lot of fun getting dolled up for the occasion. McGonagall had promised festivities this year at Hogwarts, and now the four of them would be going to the first formal Ball of the year with their dates.
Hermione stood and looked in the mirror. Remembering when she had first come to Hogwarts and been the bushy haired, almost tomboyish, little girl that she was, it amazed her to see the beautiful young woman staring back at her. She looked herself up and down, trying to find any error in her appearance or in what she was wearing. After about five minutes of scrutinizing, and just taking in, her appearance, she conceded.
"Oh my gosh," she said almost dumbfounded, "I look…"
"You look beautiful," Ginny interjected, "like something out of Harry's wildest dreams." Ginny couldn't have known, but before the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry's "wildest dreams" had consisted of things like deaths of loved ones. But since then, he had been dreaming more and more of the wonderful new future that awaited him. And his "wildest dreams" now consisted of he and Hermione doing "stuff" together that resulted in waking up hot and sweaty.
"Are we ready now?" Luna asked, "I think that we have kept the boys waiting long enough." The others nodded, and then made their way down the stairs to the common room.
"…And that's when he gave me this" Harry said as he showed his friends the brand on his chest. Harry had just finished telling them about how he had completed his training with Sean. The three of them cringed imagining the pain that it had caused. Harry smirked as he saw their reactions, which included the three of them simultaneously uttering "bloody hell."
Harry then buttoned his shirt back up and stayed quiet as he waited for them to ask him something or to urge him on. Richard was about to ask Harry about how much it hurt when the three of them heard footsteps coming down the stairs.
The four of them all got a little jittery and decided to stand, almost as if at attention, to receive the girls they would be escorting. Demelza came down first, and Ron, who had just finished touching up his hair a little, walked forward to receive her. "You look wonderful" Ron managed to force out, it was difficult for him to talk with his mouth wide open gawking at the girl in front of him.
Demelza smiled and raised her index under Ron's chin to close his mouth. "Thank you very much Ronald," she answered. Ron shook his head a little to regain his composure, and then kissed Demelza's hand that she had offered to him, put the corsage on her, and then offered her his arm, which she took.
Next came Luna, and Neville, always a little nervous, was uncharacteristically well composed as he approached her. "You look very good tonight," he said as he kissed Luna's extended hand.
Luna blushed, "thank you Neville, you look nice as well. And thanks for wearing the button I gave you." Neville smiled, and then put the corsage on Luna and offered her his arm.
The next one down was Ginny, and Richard, who was quite the gentlemen despite being beater for the Quidditch Team, approached and greeted her. "Hello mate," he said, as he took her extended hand and kissed it. "You are looking very nice tonight, especially considering…" Richard said as he glanced at the crucifix around Ginny's neck.
Ginny blushed slightly at the thought of Sean, and then kissed Richard on the cheek. "Thanks so much for taking me to the Ball," Ginny said sincerely to her teammate and friend.
"No problem," Richard answered, "we Cootes are gentlemen. And besides, what are friends for?"
Ginny smiled at this and continued to do so as Richard placed the corsage around her wrist. Ginny then took Richard's extended arm. Richard had asked Ginny to the Ball after Harry and Hermione had explained the situation with Sean to him. Richard had agreed to take her out as a friend, without any thoughts of romantic involvement, and make sure she had a good time.
Hermione came down last, wearing her beautiful dress and taking her time as she made her way down the stairs. Ron and Richard had been greeting their own dates and didn't notice right off, but Harry had been waiting vigilantly, and what he saw made him almost pinch himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming.
A big smile came across Hermione's face when she saw Harry standing there gaping at her. Harry had never seen anything so beautiful in his entire life. He thought that Hermione was beautiful the way she normally looked, but seeing her after she made an effort to look that way, made him almost pass out. She came walking to where he stood, it was a struggle for her to walk slowly since she wanted to run up and hug and kiss Harry senseless every time she saw him. But she kept a formal air about her and eventually arrived in front of the young man she loved.
They just stood and stared at each other for a few moments, each one of them wanting to save the moment in their memory forever. Ron, Richard, Neville, Demelza, Luna, and Ginny had finished their hellos at this point and looked to see their two friends staring at each other. They could tell that the two of them would want to be alone for a moment, so they excused themselves and said they would be waiting outside the portrait.
After what seemed like an eternity, Harry spoke to Hermione. "You look—" Harry paused as he tried to search for the right words to say to describe the vision in front of him. After he couldn't think of anything to say, he decided to be honest. "I can't think of any words to describe how great you look."
Hermione smiled an even bigger smile and looked deep into Harry's eyes. "That's the nicest thing you could have said to me," she answered. Harry just stood gaping for a few more moments before putting the corsage on her. He then backed up a couple of steps, earning a questioning look from Hermione.
"I just want to get the full view of how you look right now," Harry said to her, "because you look perfect."
Hermione smiled, "That was my intention the entire time Harry" she said almost giggling.
Harry smiled, "If you had wanted to look perfect," he began, "than why did it take you so long to get ready?"
Hermione could no longer contain herself, she began walking to Harry, slowly but determined. Harry just stood frozen; he didn't want to move. She came up to him, wrapped her arms around him, and leaned onto his toned and muscular torso, moving his medal to the side as she did so. She then looked up as if to speak. But actions spoke louder than words as the two of them came together for a kiss. After about ten seconds, they came apart.
"Well Sir Harry," Hermione began, "you may escort me to the ball." She then offered him her hand, which he took and kissed.
He then offered her his arm and spoke in a formal sounding voice, "Lady Hermione." Hermione giggled at Harry's show of bravado and took his arm and he led her out of the common room.
They could hear the Fat Lady complimenting their friends on how nice they looked and how she was wondering if Harry and Hermione looked as nice. She was soon shown her answer as the two of them exited and then turned to say hello.
The Fat Lady gasped as she saw them. "My goodness," she said, "you two look like royalty right now." The two of them smirked at this. "Miss Granger, you look so beautiful in that dress, and such a lovely young lady." The Fat Lady then turned her gaze to Harry. "And you—you look so grown up, but it is different seeing you with your hair like that." Harry's hair was still in the crew cut style the Priest had given him back at the monastery.
"Well," Hermione said as she ran her hand through his hair, "I like his hair like that, and Harry is a Knight now." Harry was quick to add, "only honorary."
The Fat Lady then smiled again as she saw the medal around Harry's neck. "And I see that you are wearing your medal," she began. "We were all so proud to see you and the others up there receiving the medal. And I knew you long before you were a hero."
Harry smiled, but he knew that they had to get going or they would miss the start of the event. "We have to go," Harry said politely. "We will see you later tonight." With that, they waved and were gone down the stairs.
Their walk to the Great Hall was very jubilant; there was a lot of that going around after Voldemort's demise. The eight of them engaged in vibrant conversation about their first classes in school and about their hopes for the coming year and after school. Harry still wanted to become an Auror, and Hermione still wanted to be a Healer.
"It would be great," Harry said, "if I ever get hurt on an assignment, I won't have to go to the hospital, I'll just have to come home."
"You plan on living in a hospital?" Richard interjected, gaining some laughs from the others.
Harry gave a light chuckle, "No, even better," he then looked at the young woman next to him, "I'll have a live-in Healer."
Hermione blushed at this and the other six instinctively turned their heads as Harry and Hermione briefly kissed. After a little while, they arrived at the Great Hall and saw that most of the students had already arrived. They moved towards the front of the crowd, hardly able to contain their excitement for the Ball to start. They had no problem getting through, all Harry had to do was say "excuse us" and it was if Moses had parted the Red Sea.
Hermione glanced at Harry and the shining medal he was wearing around his neck. "I didn't know that you would be wearing your medal," she said.
Harry blushed slightly as he answered, "I wasn't planning on it, but McGonagall asked me to wear it as part of my formal attire this year. She said that it would help boost morale around the school and lend to the joy of the festivities."
The group of friends made small talk for a little while, when McGonagall came in to address them. The Great Hall had been arranged for the ball, with a table with drinks and other refreshments, several round tables where people could sit and chat, a fairly large open space for dancing, and behind that a stage for the musicians. The students were all on their feet and talking amongst each other. After a while, all the students had separated into groups of friends.
The students quieted down as McGonagall took the stage and began to speak. "Welcome all to this wonderful occasion. This will be the first of many such occasions this year to celebrate the restoration of peace and order to our world." She paused while the students applauded and then continued. "Before we begin, I would like to issue a few reminders. All students are to remain either inside the Great Hall, or out in the gardens before returning to your dormitories. And, recent events have occurred, which Minister Moody believes should be announced here at the school."
The students remained silent and expecting as McGonagall continued. "In the spirit of the newly reformed alliance between the magical world and the Order of St. George." Ginny tensed slightly at the mention of the Order to which Sean belonged. "Minister Moody wishes me to announce that the Knights of the Order have scored a great victory in their cause. The vampire threat, which you may remember former Minister of Magic Rufus Scrimgeour was found to be the cause of, has been made extinct."
There were several gasps from the assembled students. Ginny was silent, but there were a myriad of thoughts running through her head. "Did he survive?" was the chief one among them, but she remained optimistic and began to think about what would happen if he had survived. "He will be relieved from the Order," she thought to herself, "and then he will go into the world to seek his fortune--and then." Ginny stopped at this and remembered what he had said. "I will come back to you. I will wait until you are done with school and I have made a living, but wherever you go, I will come to you."
Ginny then started fingering the iron crucifix that hung around her neck and uttered a silent prayer to God that Sean was okay. Her fears were put to rest as McGonagall continued.
"Minister Moody is also pleased to announce that no Knights were killed in the mission that destroyed the vampires." There was applause from the students, and a huge sigh of relief from Ginny. A smile crept its way to her face as she began to imagine Sean coming and finding her later.
"One last thing before we begin." McGonagall continued after the applause died down. "We should remember that many gave their lives for the cause that we are fortunate enough to see fulfilled. I would like to call for a moment of silence in remembrance of them and their sacrifices." The students all complied with this request and silently honored those who gave their lives, and contemplated all that they had in their own."
"I will also like to mention," McGonagall said after the moment was over, "that we have, as you all know, one of the famous Heroes of Hogwarts here." Hermione turned and smiled at Harry, who smiled back. "And I would like to ask him, Harry Potter, if he and the young woman he is with, would favor us by having the first dance of the evening." At Hermione's urging, Harry nodded in response and McGonagall continued. "Let the Ball begin," she said, "everyone is free to occupy the floor after the first dance is concluded."
With this, Harry led Hermione onto the dance floor. It was already common knowledge to the school that Harry and Hermione were, all who knew them thought "finally", seeing each other, and all those in attendance watched the truly wonderful event unfolding before them. Harry took Hermione's waist and the two of them waited for the music to start.
The band began to play a slow, beautiful, and emotional piece for the two of them to dance to. Harry led Hermione slowly and carefully around the dance floor to the tune and beat of the music. The two of them just stared at each other; so happy that everything was finally working out and that they had come together. They both fought back the instinct to talk, because they didn't want to ruin or lessen this perfect moment that they were having.
Many of the students and faculty also happily watched them. Hagrid had to choke back tears as he watched the two students he had always thought would be perfect for each other, dance happily to the beautiful music. Headmistress McGonagall watched them with similar feelings as well. Nymphadora Tonks, their head of house, could not contain her tears of joy as she fingered the engagement ring Lupin had given her that was now around her left ring finger. Harry and Hermione were so perfect for each other, and now they were free to act on that without fear.
Ginny was watching her friends and wishing that Sean was at the Ball. She wondered what he was doing right now, and if he'd already been relieved from the Order. She briefly entertained the fantasy that any moment now, he would come walking in dressed in his formal clothes and sweep her off her feet. But she knew that she would have to wait to see him again. She sighed and began to weep softly, prompting Richard to hand her his handkerchief.
"Are you crying over them," Richard politely asked pointing to the dancing couple, "or about him," he added pointing to the crucifix hanging around Ginny's neck.
After Ginny had regained her composure, she spoke to Richard. "I'm sorry," she started, "I know that it isn't right of me to agree to be your date and then spend the whole crying about another man."
Richard put a hand on Ginny's shoulder; "I understand completely," he said, "Harry and Hermione told me about Sean and everything that happened between you two." Richard made sure that Ginny was facing him so she could see the sincerity in what he said next. "I wanted to take you here so that even though you can't be with the one you love. You can have a good time with your friends."
"Thanks" Ginny said to Richard as she handed him back his handkerchief. "It's good to know that I have so many good friends." Richard nodded at this and politely kissed Ginny's hand.
Nearby, Ron and Demelza watched their friends dancing. "They look so perfect together," Demelza said with a wistful tone. Ron didn't know how to respond to that, his first impulse would have been to roll his eyes, but now he felt a warm feeling in his body. He looked at Demelza, who looked beautiful in her dress and after her friends had been dolling her up.
"They do look good together," Ron admitted, "and they always have."
"Sometimes," Demelza said, "I forget that the three of you have been friends since the train ride your first year."
"Yeah," Ron said as he turned to face Katie, "but so much has happened since then that it is strange to think about." Ron thought in his mind at some of the things that had had happened since that fateful train ride six years ago. He thought about the adventures the three of them had had, with the Sorcerers Stone, the Chamber of Secrets, Harry's Godfather, the Tri-Wizard Tournament and Voldemort's return, the episode with Deloris Umbridge and the Prophecy Hall, and the first battle at Hogwarts and Dumbledore being killed.
He also remembered the good times that he and his friends had had. He remembered telling Harry about the magical world during their first year of school, him and Harry finding the Basilisk, Lupin's Defense Against the Dark Arts classes and meeting Sirius, helping Harry during the Tournament, him and Harry playing Quidditch together, Christmas at the Burrow, the time that he ate the love chocolates Harry had been given, when Harry had come back from the monastery with his short hair and muscular body, the ceremony where Harry was given his medal, and now he knew that he would be remembering this moment along with the others. Ron breathed a sigh and suddenly felt as though he was much older than he really was.
"What is it?" Demelza asked as she touched Ron's shoulder to bring him back to the present.
"Nothing," Ron said as he gently took Demelza's hand in his, "I was just remembering a lot of stuff."
A sly grin crept its way to Demelza's face, "was I in any of them?"
Ron answered with his own smile, "not really, but if you like I can make you a part of the new ones." Neville and Luna just watched in silence, but Neville stiffened in surprise and delight when Luna reached over and took his hand in hers.
At about this time, the music stopped, and Harry and Hermione looked deep into each other's eyes. All the love they had for each other radiating from their gazes. Harry spoke first, "I love you Hermione."
Hermione smiled at Harry and answered, "I love you Harry."
The two of them then came together in a long and passionate kiss, which was accompanied by many joyous cheers from faculty and students alike, as the Ball began in earnest. Harry and Hermione stopped kissing after about twenty seconds, not caring who saw them and ignoring all the shouting and cheers from those assembled.
They stayed on the dance floor for a long time and just enjoyed being with each other. They all danced the night away and talked amongst friends for the entire evening. When it was over, Harry, Ron, Richard, Neville, and their dates got together to return to their dormitories.
"It was a wonderful night wasn't it?" Hermione asked out loud.
"It sure was," Ginny answered, "I am looking forward to the rest of the year and what else McGonagall has in store."
"Yeah," Ron said, "I'm looking forward to getting to know my date a lot better." He winked at Demelza who winked back at him and took a tighter grip of his hand.
The eight friends continued onward into the night after the wonderful evening they had had. It was a new beginning, a new world, and everything was perfect. The possibilities were endless, and all of them were determined to make the most of it, together.