Chapter 4: New Beginnings

Marred as it was by the sadness that naturally followed Fred Weaseley's death, it had still been, Harry thought, the best summer of his life with Ginny and the others at the Burrow. He was now an adult and it had been fairly safe to go wherever he wanted. Ministry Aurors had entered 12 Grimmauld Place, and after carefully checking for malicious enchantments, curses and hexes, Harry was allowed to return. New protective spells had been placed on the house, which meant that he and his friends could come and go at will. He had made a number of brief visits, accompanied by Ron, Hermione and Ginny.

In August there had been a family party to celebrate Ginny's seven­teenth birthday. It had been fairly small, much like Harry's had been, but it was still enjoyable and a welcome relief after the tragedies of earlier in the year. Hermione was there, and Luna, who only lived a few miles from the Burrow. Harry had not had many girlfriends, and he had never been very good with giving presents, so he had asked Hermione for her advice. She told him to get Ginny something personal, not practical. So he had bought a nice bracelet to give her and he had promised to buy her something extra if she thought of anything later.

Harry had still tended to shun the company of most wizards and witches. He and the others had tried a brief visit to Diagon Alley, to see George at Weaseley's Wizard Wheezes, which was now even more popular than before: thanks in no small part to Harry's interview with The Daily Prophet, which identified George as one of those who had fought at the Battle of Hogwarts, as it was now commonly referred. In fact, Harry had made sure that everyone that he knew who had fought was credited. However, despite Apparating into the little flat that George had shared with Fred, once he had been recognised in the shop, Harry's visit had turned into a near riot, with many people eager to shake his hand, or just get near enough to touch him—all of which he found very disconcerting!

Harry was still undecided about whether to live in the Black family home or whether to leave it unoccupied. While he was still at school he didn't really need a home of his own—and, unfortunately, there were still too many reminders of his godfather, which tended to oppress him when he was in the house on his own—so he didn't need to make any decision yet. He had talked to Kreacher (who, it should be said, would have agreed to anything his master had asked of him), and it had been agreed that the old house elf would stay at Hogwarts, unless summoned by Harry.

Hogwarts School had now suffered two consecutive years of severe disruptions. The first, Albus Dumbledore's death, had meant that the summer term had finished early, with all exams cancelled; then, with all the upheavals and chaos of the following year, culminating in the fall of the Dark Lord, again causing a premature end to the school year. It was therefore decided that the fairest course of action would be to offer all returning pupils the choice of taking the whole of these disrupted years again.

Because of the importance of higher level exam grades to future career prospects, most of those who had been taking N.E.W.T.'s elected to do this, with only a few who had been in Harry's year, choosing to go on to their seventh year. Harry, Hermione and Ron, of course, had not returned to school in the year following Dumbledore's death anyway, as they were looking for the Horcruxes, so they had all decided to finish their education, and repeat the sixth year.

For the sake of allowing him and the others some privacy, after all the publicity following the Battle of Hogwarts, it was thought inadvisable for Harry to travel on the Hogwarts Express, so he arranged with Aberforth Dumbledore that he would arrive at the Hog's Head by Portkey, on the evening before the first day of the new school year, and from there make the short journey to the school; it not being possible to transport directly into the school or its grounds. Even though most people would have already read his Daily Prophet interview, once the term had begun he wouldn't be able to stop people from asking him about the battle, so he would just have to put up with the attention of his fellow students; although he hoped that the novelty would soon wear off once he had been back a short while.

Harry's arrival at the school had been greeted only by the few people who had known of his plans. Along with Ginny, Ron and Hermione, he had travelled from the Burrow, which had been gratefully reinhabited as soon as the Weaseley family had no longer needed to stay at Great Aunt Muriel's for safety. There was one noticeable absentee this year: Horace Slughorn, who, despite being asked to stay on by Professor McGonagall who was now officially the Hogwarts Headmistress, had decided to resume his retirement. He was now, of course, as equally famous as his previous protégés in the Slug Club, so he had decided to settle down to a quiet life and write his memoirs.

After a tasty supper, served by the as ever eager to please Kreacher, Harry and Ginny, Ron and Hermione retired to the Gryffindor common room to spend their last evening of relative calm before tomorrow's returnees and new arrivals interrupted their peace. It was just after midnight when Ginny and Hermione went to bed. Harry and Ron remained in their preferred armchairs near the fireplace.

"You, know, I've kind of missed the old place," said Ron.

"Yeah, I know what you mean" said Harry. "It's good to be back!"

As the Hogwarts Express was not due to arrive before the evening, the four friends enjoyed a leisurely breakfast together. They then went for their customary walk in the grounds—perhaps their last chance for some private time to themselves. Everything seemed the same as it had been during the last occasion that they were there: except, of course, that they were all a little older and more contented. Their first stop was once again the marble tomb of Albus Dumbledore. It had become their tradition to first pay their respects to their former headmaster. It still shone in the Autumn sunshine; although the marble had weathered a little, so that it appeared slightly more silver than white in colour. Harry allowed his thoughts to briefly carry him back into the past. Since Albus Dumbledore's death and the vanquishing of Voldermort, many portraits of Hogwarts' most famous headmaster now hung in buildings throughout the World's wizarding communities. Harry suspected that, even in death, Dumbledore was in great demand and spent much time travelling between these paintings, offering not necessarily advice, but rather wisdom to those that needed it most.

The next stop on their pilgrimage was the secluded cemetery within which rested those they had known and loved. Hermione and Harry hung back while Ginny and Ron stood before their brother's grave; Ron's arm around his sister, Ginny's head tilted towards her brother's shoulder. Harry could hear Hermione's gentle sobs as her eyes welled with tears. He instinctively reached down for her hand. No words were exchanged between them, but she allowed him to lead as they walked slowly along the line of white stones and mounds of earth. Each grave was no longer a natural, earthy hue, but covered with brightly coloured wild flowers in full bloom.