A Different Beginning

Chapter XXXVIII - Hagrid and the Dream

Later on that evening, Harry and Ginny's snogging session was interrupted by Hermione informing them that Hagrid had returned. The four of them had quickly snuck under the invisibility cloak and moved down to Hagrid's cabin. The story that he had for them was incredible, even if he was avoiding the reason for him being so badly injured. Hagrid had definitely been on Order business.

At the end of last year he had left with Madame Maxime and they headed to the mountains in France to try to befriend the giants. They went to the Gurg of the giants, who was the leader, bringing him a gift in the name of Albus Dumbledore and then promising to bring something back the next day. The second day the Gurg sounded pretty interested in learning what Dumbledore had to say. But on the third day, they were in trouble because another giant had killed the Gurg and taken over the position which meant that they had to start from scratch all over again. The problem was that this new Gurg was not interested in Dumbledore.

They had hid that evening in the caves and that was when they had seen the Death Eaters speaking to the Gurg, only this time, the Gurg seemed interested in what they had to say. They then decided to look for a few other giants who might still be interested. They found a few in a cave but the next day, the Gurg had raided them out and no one was interested anymore. This was everyone's worse fear as it only proved what they had been dreading; Voldemort was gaining more power.

They were interrupted by a sudden appearance of Umbridge who almost seemed to be scoping out the cabin looking for Harry as if she knew that he was there. The way that she was questioning Hagrid as well about where he had been and what he had been doing, Harry got an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach telling him that Umbridge knew exactly what he had been doing and what he had been up to. When she finally left, they snuck back up to the castle after warning Hagrid to stick as close to the curriculum as possible so that Umbridge didn't have an excuse to sack him. But their warnings fell upon deaf ears.

The first Care of Magical Creatures class with Hagrid was dreaded, especially when they headed into the Forbidden Forest. Harry could only roll his eyes at Hermione as she continued to try to ask Hagrid if these creatures were safe. But then all thoughts of that vanished from his mind when he saw those horse-like creatures that he had seen pulling the school carriages.

"These are Thestrals," Hagrid replied with a smile. "Now how many of you can see them?"

Harry was glad that he would finally be learning the secret to these creatures. He raised his hand along with Zabini and Neville.

"Now why can you three see them? Does anyone know?"

Hermione raised her hand attentively. "Only people who have seen death can see a Thestral."

"Correct. Ten points to Gryffindor."

Hagrid went on to explain that Thestrals were thought to be unlucky because of the whole death thing but that it wasn't true. They had a great sense of direction and could find anyplace you asked them too. Hogwarts apparently had one of the only domestic herds left.

Umbridge showed up for her inspection and she was incredibly harsh. She made Hagrid out to be an idiot and Harry could only groan at what he knew was going to be a terrible review.

The weeks passed by quickly and Harry found himself counting down the days until he could go home to the manor for Christmas. All of the Weasleys were going to be staying at the manor with them as well. He had never wanted to go home so badly.

It was the final DA meeting until after Christmas and Harry stood calmly in the corner as he waited for everyone to come in. Ginny rushed inside with a huge grin on her face.

"Harry, I did it! I made seeker!"

Harry grinned and kissed her softly. "I knew that you could do it. Good job."

She smiled. "I know that you would much rather play."

"Hey, it's not your fault. Besides, you're a great seeker and I expect you to help Gryffindor win, okay?"

She nodded. "Okay. Harry after the meeting I promised Colin that I would help him out with his present to his parents so I can't wait for you tonight. Is that alright?"

He nodded. "That's fine. I'll see you later in the common room anyway. So who are the new beaters?"

"Andrew Kirke and Jack Sloper. They're second years and not nearly as good as Fred and George but they'll have to do." Ginny explained.

Harry nodded as the room began to fill up with people. Once everyone had arrived, he explained that since it was the last day before the holidays they were just going to review everything that they had already learned. He split them up into groups and watched as everyone began to perform all of the spells, charms, curses, and jinxes that he had taught them. He felt pride rip through him as he watched. When the meeting was over he wished everyone a Happy Christmas and then worked on setting the room back in order like he usually did. A few people had hung around to talk to him as well. Zabini was the last person to leave but then he noticed Cho standing in the corner.

"Hi," he replied.

She smiled at him. "Hi. You're doing a really great job with this club."

He grinned. "Thanks. I'm glad that everyone is learning so well. I hope to start on patronouses after the Christmas break. Are you going home for Christmas?"

She nodded, tears welling up in her eyes. "Yes. I miss my parents. But I can't help but wonder if Cedric and I would still be together if he was alive. It would have been a year on Christmas Eve that we'd been dating."

Harry nodded. "I'm sure that you would be. He loved you a lot."

She stepped closer to him. "I - I've been meaning to ask you. Did - did he mention me at all before he died?"

Harry shook his head no. This was the last thing that he wanted to talk about. But she looked so pitiful with tears running down her cheeks so he tried to contain the anger he felt at being asked to remember that night. "I - he didn't really have much of a chance to say anything at all."

"Oh," Cho replied.

"Yeah, listen Cho I need to head back now so unless there's anything else that I can do for you at the moment I -"

"There is one more thing," Cho replied softly.

Harry nodded. "What's that?"

She took another step closer to him and planted her lips on his. He didn't shove her away because he was shocked. He stood there, stiller then a statue as he looked at her in utter shock. He felt nothing in the kiss. It wasn't like before when he had felt lust for her on sight. Now he felt nothing but sympathy and disgust. He pushed her away.

"What the hell are you doing?" He demanded.

Cho sighed. "I like you, Harry, and I know that you like me. I was thinking, well, the first time we never really got off on the right foot. So I was thinking we could try again and see how it turns out."

Harry shook his head. "Cho, I have a girlfriend."

Cho shrugged as she danced her finger down his chest and lower until she tapped the snap on his jeans with her finger. Harry grabbed her hand and pulled it away from him. "So? She can't give you what I can. She's a girl and I'm a woman."

"Well, I don't want you. I want Ginny."

"You want that ugly little red head? Why? What does she have that I don't?"

"Class."

Her hand moved so fast that Harry didn't even feel the slap across his face until the sting came afterwards. "How dare you? I have class! I'm ten times more beautiful then she'll ever be! She has those stupid blemishes across her nose and not to mention the fact that she's ... she's ... she's a scarlet woman!"

He shrugged. "Don't talk about her like that! You don't even know her! I do and it's Ginny I want, not you. So get over it!"

Cho glared at him and then she turned on her heel and hurried over to the door. She yanked it open and then turned to look at him. "You'll never have it as good as you would have with me." Then she stormed out of the room.

Harry ran his hand over his chin and sighed. He had never expected that. He knew that she had been overly nice to him most of the year but ... he didn't know what he had been expecting but not that. He shoved his wand in his pocket and then he left the room, heading back to the Gryffindor common room lost in thought. He ended up not going straight back to the common room, but wandering the halls for over an hour wondering what he had ever really seen in Cho Chang in the first place. Finally after wandering around for almost two hours he headed back to the common room. He took a seat in his favourite armchair and occupied his time by watching Ginny argue with Colin over something at the other end of the room. It was late and most people were already heading up to bed. He looked up when Hermione sat down across from him.

"You don't look so well."

He sighed. "I had a bit of an incident."

"And you're left cheek is a little red. What happened?"

"It's still red? Blimey she hit me hard. I got slapped by Cho."

Hermione glanced up at him in surprise. "What?"

He nodded. "Long story but basically she wants me back and I told her that I wasn't interested and that I have Ginny. She wasn't too pleased with me."

Hermione nodded. "She's been crying all over the school about Cedric yet she wants another boyfriend. Where's her logic?"

Harry shrugged. "Beats me." He grinned when he saw Ginny approach him and slide comfortably into his lap.

"Well, I'm heading up to bed. It's late. I'll talk to you guys tomorrow. Bye." Hermione replied as she headed up the stairs to the girls dormitories.

Harry glanced at his watch and realized that it was almost twelve thirty and that the common room had emptied pretty quickly. He turned to smile at Ginny. "I thought that you were helping Colin."

"I give up on him. He wanted me to help him organize this photo album thing that he constructed for his parents but he's too crazy and critical so I told him to do it himself." Ginny explained. "What happened to you? You're cheek is all red."

Harry sighed. "Cho slapped me."

"Why?"

"Because she kissed me and I told her that I wasn't interested and that I had a girlfriend. So she asked me what you had that she didn't and I said class. She slapped me right across the face."

"Oh, you poor baby," Ginny murmured before kissing him softly. "Do you really think that I have class?"

Harry nodded. "Definitely."

"So what do I have that Cho doesn't have?" Ginny asked, a small mischievous smile on her face.

Harry grinned. "Let's see; you're beautiful. You've got this gorgeous red hair that I always think looks like it's the colour of wild fire. It feels like silk and smells like strawberries and I love to have it in my hands. Then there's these big chocolate brown eyes that can make me do anything you want because I've a weakness of them. And this soft sprinkle of freckles across your tiny nose that you always try to hide with makeup and this cute little bottom lip which you chew a lot and it drives me insane. Not to mention this soft milkmaid white skin that feels like satin and I love to feel the touch of your skin on my own when we kiss. And I can't forget this gorgeous body. You're so beautiful."

Ginny blushed. "So, it's purely physical then?"

Harry shook his head. "No. And I love that blush that creeps into your cheeks as well and I just die of curiousity wondering if that blush stays in your cheeks or if it runs down your entire body." She blushed deeper. "But there's also that mouth of yours and the way that you can bully me into doing anything - like telling my father about the Blood Quill. Or the way that you can make me laugh or snog me senseless. Or the way that I know that no matter what I tell you, you won't tell anyone else and that you won't judge me, you just accept me, flaws and all, even if you might try to change a few of those flaws." Ginny laughed then, tears twinkling in the back of her eyes. "And not to mention how smart you are. You've got incredible grades and you're a powerful witch, one that I know will do something great one day. And there's the fact that we share one common factor that no one else can say - we both survived Voldemort. Those are the main characteristics that you have and Cho doesn't."

Ginny nodded. "Harry ... that's, that's the sweetest thing ever. You make me feel so beautiful."

He leaned down to capture her lips in his for a soft kiss. "You are beautiful. Ginny ... I think I'm in love with you."

Ginny's eyes widened and she slipped her arms around his neck, running her fingers softly through his hair. "Why do you think?"

He shrugged. "Because you make me feel things that no one else ever has before. I feel ... complete with you. Because thinking of you keeps me sane and keeps me happy. I dream about you. And I can see a future with you but I can't see my future without you."

Ginny smiled mischievously. "I think that's a lot more then thinking you're in love with me."

He grinned when she placed her hand over his heart to feel it pounding there. "You're right. I don't think, I know. I'm in love with you, Ginny Weasley."

She smiled and kissed him softly. "I'm in love with you too."

Harry glanced up at her in surprise. "You are?"

She nodded. "I didn't want to be. I don't even know when I started falling. But that day in the garden when you kissed me, I felt like my entire world had just stopped and opened a new beginning for me, a new path to follow. But I couldn't help but wonder if you thought that I was only dating you because of that stupid girlish crush I had on you when I was eleven years old. Then the feelings I was getting ... I didn't know if they were real or if they were just wishful memories of what I had felt when I fancied you." She sighed happily. "But then you sent me all those flowers and I was a goner. My first thought was that you better watch yourself before I go and fall in love with you. Then after that day in Hogsmeade, as I lied in bed surrounded by all of my favourite flowers it hit me ... I was already crazy in love with you. Because you have everything that I want."

He grinned. "Oh yeah? What do I have that no one else has?"

Ginny laughed. "You're powerful. And you're smart and not to mention so handsome. I love this rat's nest that you call hair that just sort of sproings up everywhere all of the time and I love to drag my fingers through it. You're hair is so soft and I love it. But it's you're eyes that I fell in love with. These beautiful emerald green eyes, almond shaped and spectacular. Or maybe it was this sexy little cleft in your chin or this sexy long lean body from Quidditch training. Or maybe it's your hands. Big, wide palmed, long fingered, calloused - I love the way they feel on my skin. If we were to bring Voldemort into this, you saved my life from him. Something that I will eternally be grateful for. To use your own words - the way you don't judge me and accept me for my flaws - which I know are that I can be bossy like mum and have a terrible temper." Harry's grin flashed and she laughed. "Or this sexy grin that just turns my insides to mush. You're everything to me, Harry James Potter."

He smiled at her and slid his fingers into her hair, pulling her close for a long, deep kiss. "You're everything to me, Ginevra." He winced when she slapped his arm. "I mean, Ginny. I love you."

She grinned. "I love you, too."

Then she brought her lips back down to his.

**********

After an hour of some intense snogging, Harry and Ginny said goodnight and headed upstairs to bed as they were leaving in three days to go to Potter Manor for Christmas. He changed into a white tee shirt and some pyjama bottoms before he crawled into bed to think about what had just happened downstairs in the common room. He was in love with Ginny. He hadn't realized it or even suspected what he was feeling until that moment. But he was in love with her. Crazy in love and it felt amazing. They had really only been dating for five months and that may have seemed like it was way too soon but he knew it wasn't. He was in love with Ginny Weasley.

He closed his eyes, happily thinking of his Ginny and he began to dream of their life together. But then the dream changed. His body felt smooth, flexible, powerful and he could feel himself sliding through metal bars. There were vibrant colours ahead in the darkness as he moved closer. He turned his head to enter the corridor and noticed that there was a man slumped over on the floor. Then a feeling that was very unfamiliar rose up inside of him - he wanted to bite this man, very badly. But he knew that he couldn't because he had important work to do. A silvery cloak slipped off of the man in the darkness and the man jumped to his feet, pulling his wand from his robes. Harry looked up at the man, reared his head and struck once, twice, three times before the man fell to the floor shrieking in pain before he fell silent.

Harry woke up in bed to Ron and Neville shaking him. His hand was pressed to his forehead over his scar which was burning like crazy.

"Harry, are you alright?" Ron asked.

Harry shook his head no as he remembered the dream. "No, Ron I - your dad ... your dad has been attacked by a giant snake."

"What?" Ron asked in confusion.

Harry nodded. "Attacked by a snake. We have to make sure that he's okay."

Neville nodded at Harry. "I'll go get McGonagall."

Neville hurried out of the room and Ron turned to Harry. "Are you sure that it wasn't just a dream, Harry?"

Harry shook his head no again. "No, I was dreaming but then I wasn't and ... you're dad was attacked by a giant snake!"

McGonagall came into the room dressed in her tartan gown and dressing cap. "Potter, what is the meaning of this? Longbottom said you that had some type of dream?"

"It wasn't a dream, Professor," Harry replied. "I saw Mr. Weasley, Ron's dad - he was just attacked by a giant snake!"

"That's preposterous!"

"No, I swear it's true! Someone has to help him."

McGonagall looked at Harry for a moment and then she nodded. "Come with me, Potter, you too Weasley."

Harry and Ron followed McGonagall as they left the dormitories. They were going to Dumbledore's office. When they approached the door they could hear voices coming from inside, almost as if he was having a meeting but when they entered, Dumbledore was sitting at his desk in his dressing gown by himself and the portraits on the wall were all pretending to be sleeping.

"Albus, it seems Potter here had a dream and -"

"No!" Harry exclaimed angrily. "It wasn't a dream! I saw Mr. Weasley being bitten by a giant snake!"

Dumbledore didn't look at Harry; he instead began to examine his fingernails. "How did you see this?"

"I was sleeping and I -"

"No, I mean, were you standing by and watching or were you involved?"

Harry gulped. "I - I was the snake. I saw it from the view of the snake."

Dumbledore nodded. He then turned to the portraits of the old Headmasters on the wall and asked Dilys and Evervard to raise the alarm and to search for Mr. Weasley. He then turned to Fawkes and asked him to send a warning before he took a silver instrument and tipped it with his wand. The instrument made a strange clinking noise and green smoke rose up from it then the head of a serpent came out from it and Dumbledore began to mutter to it. Then the head split in two and Dumbledore made it go away.

Evervard returned to his portrait and said that he had found Mr. Weasley. He was covered in blood and people were tending to him as he spoke. Dilys returned next to inform them that Mr. Weasley was being taken to St. Mungo's immediately.

Dumbledore turned to McGonagall. "Minerva, send for the rest of the Weasleys and have them come up to my office immediately."

McGonagall nodded and rushed out of the office. Ron turned to look at Harry, a dumbstruck look on his face. Dumbledore then proceeded to take out a blackened kettle putting a portkey charm on it and then he turned to Harry and Ron.

"I will be sending you to Grimmauld Place for the time being."

They waited a few minutes and McGonagall came in with Ginny, Fred, and George. Ginny walked over to Harry and took his hand. "What's going on? McGonagall said that you saw dad get hurt?"

Harry shook his head. "I'll - I'll explain later."

She nodded as Dumbledore instructed everyone to gather around the kettle. Fawkes flashed back into the office, dropping a feather and Dumbledore sighed.

"It seems Dolores knows that you are out of your beds. Everyone gather round now."

They all reached out and placed a finger on the kettle. Harry looked up at Dumbledore once more but this time they made eye contact and Harry felt a white searing pain rip through his scar and he felt a sudden intense hatred for the man in front of him. But before he could form any logic around what he had just felt, the jerk at his naval came and he was spiralling away. They landed in a heap in the entrance hall of Grimmauld Place, Ginny falling into his lap.

All four of the Weasleys turned to look at Harry as he made his way into the kitchen.

"What's going on, Harry?" Fred demanded.

Harry gulped. "I - I was having a dream and then it wasn't a dream and there was this snake and I saw it bite your dad. I told McGonagall and well it turned out to have actually happened. Your dad is at St. Mungo's right now."

Ginny paled and clutched Harry's hand tightly. "Is he okay?"

"I don't know. There was a lot of blood."

Fred, George, and Ron began to pace nervously around the kitchen. Harry reached into his pocket for his mirror and remembered that he had it in his trunk at Hogwarts. He took a seat in the corner of the kitchen as he watched everyone pace.

"We've got to go to St. Mungo's now!" George demanded.

Harry shook his head n. "You can't. Dumbledore sent us here for a reason. You've got to wait until your mum contacts you."

Fred glared at Harry. "He's our bloody father!"

Just then Errol, the Weasleys old owl came flying through the window and George grabbed the note.

"Your father is at St. Mungo's. The healers are doing everything they can and they tell me that it looks promising. Stay where you are. As soon as your father is out of the woods I will be coming to collect you. Love Mum. Like this helps us!" George said.

Fred groaned. "That sounds like she's not sure what's going on!"

Ginny sighed, getting up to sit between the twins so that they could hold her close. "We just have to be calm."

"Calm is exactly what you need to be." James replied from the doorway as Sirius and Remus came up from behind him.

"Da, what are you doing here?"

James walked over to pull Harry into his arms. "Dumbledore sent us here to keep an eye on the five of you. What happened?"

Harry quickly explained about his dream again, this time making sure to tell his father that he was the snake. He also mentioned what had happened with Dumbledore during the portkey.

James nodded. "I don't know how to explain that either. But if it was one of your weird Voldemort vibes then maybe they all can't be bad, right?" Harry only nodded as James draped his arm over his shoulder. "Harry, stop blaming yourself for what happened. You probably saved Arthur's life."

Harry didn't comment. He only stayed sitting next to his father in silence as he watched Ginny cuddled between Fred and George and Ron continue to pace around the room.

After a few hours of silence, Molly Weasley appeared in the kitchen. "He's fine." Everyone stood up at those words. "Bill is sitting with him now. I want everyone to get some sleep and then we'll head over to visit him after lunch." She explained.

Sirius led them all upstairs and pointed out a few bedrooms where they could sleep in. Dobby and Winky had really managed to improve the place even if it was still a bit depressing. He gave everyone their own room, until he was left alone with Harry.

"How are you holding up?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know. I feel like this huge weight's been lifted off my chest but at the same time I feel like it's my fault that this happened because when I saw it, I was the snake."

Sirius nodded. "Listen Harry, it's not your fault. What happened was an accident. Arthur was doing Order business, something that he volunteered for which means that there's nothing that you can do about it, alright?"

"Alright."

Sirius grinned. "Good. Now why don't you get some sleep? Someone will come and wake you up for lunch."

Harry nodded as he stepped into the bedroom that Sirius pointed out, closing the door behind him. But when he climbed into bed, sleep was the last thing on his mind.

***********

Ginny came in to wake Harry up a few hours later, even though he hadn't really slept the entire time. She told him that Dumbledore had sent their trunks and he was to get dressed and come downstairs. He was still feeling sorry for himself and then Ginny had stood on her toes to kiss him softly.

"I love you."

He grinned and he felt this warm feeling flood through his body. "I love you too. Thanks Gin."

She smiled. "You're welcome. Now hurry up and get ready."

Harry grabbed a quick shower before he dressed and headed down into the kitchen. James, Sirius, Remus, Tonks, Moody, Molly, Fred, George, Ginny, and Ron were all eating sandwiches at the table. Winky placed a sandwich on the table for Harry and he gave her a small smile. He wasn't really that hungry though and he only picked at what was there. James leaned over to him.

"Hey, eat up a bit, alright."

"I'm not hungry."

James nodded. "Well, try to eat at least half, alright?"

Harry nodded and did as his father asked. Tonks and Moody were apparently bringing them to St. Mungo's so Harry followed the Weasleys out of the house. He was surprised to find that the Marauders were staying.

"Aren't you coming to the hospital?"

James shook his head. "No, we've got some work to do. You go; I'll see you when you get back."

Harry nodded as he fell into step with Tonks. Tonks was really curious about his dream and asked him if he had any Seer blood in his family. Harry only shook his head but he was remembering his father mentioning something about psychic abilities as part of the elementals. But even as he thought about it he knew that he didn't have it. The dream had been something to do with his weird Voldemort vibes.

They took the Knight Bus to a muggle department store called Purge and Dowse Ltd. From there, Tonks spoke to the mannequin in the window and they entered into a large reception area. Molly spoke to the welcome witch who instructed them as to where Arthur was being held. They followed her down to Arthur's hospital room and stepped inside.

Mr. Weasley looked pretty good. He was grinning and simply had one arm wrapped in bandages. He explained that he was fine he just had to keep wearing the bandages for a while because the poison had some type of effect in it that kept him bleeding all the time. So he had to drink lots of Blood-Replenishing potions until that was worked out. He was also a bit excited as the man who was in the room with him had just been bitten by a werewolf and Mr. Weasley had tried to explain to him that he could have a normal life. Remus was actually coming in to speak with him that afternoon.

Molly sent Fred, George, Ginny, Ron, and Harry out of the room for a while so that the adults could talk. Fred and George pulled out these flesh-coloured strings that they had invented during the summer called Extendable Ears. Harry was unsure about listening in at first but Fred told him that since he had saved Arthur's life he had more of a right. So Harry took the string and held it up to his ear.

They were talking about him and the dream that he had had but then he dropped the ear because the last words he heard made his blood run cold. Moody thought that Voldemort was possessing him. The Weasleys all turned to look at Harry and he simply gulped. No one said anything else to him as they returned to Grimmauld Place. Harry headed upstairs, saying that he was tired before he locked himself in the room that he had been given.

Voldemort was possessing him. Was that why he could feel emotions that weren't his own? And was that way he was dreaming about corridors and about snakes? He lay on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Maybe that had something to do with the reason why Dumbledore had refused to look at him. Was he afraid that when he looked into Harry's eyes he would see red orbs and not emerald green ones?

The bedroom door opened up and Harry glanced over to where James and Sirius were standing. "'Lo."

James sighed and took a seat on the bed. "You look terrible. Ginny told us what you over heard."

Sirius nodded. "You're not being possessed."

Harry glared at his godfather. "AND HOW THE HELL DO YOU KNOW THAT? HAVE YOU EVER BEEN POSSESSED BEFORE?"

"No, but I have." Ginny replied quietly from the doorway.

Harry looked over at her as she walked over and sat in his lap. "Do you think I'm being possessed?"

"Well, do you have lots of blank spots in your day where you don't remember where you were or what you were doing? Have you ever found yourself in an area completely unsure of how you got there?" Ginny asked.

"No."

Ginny smiled at him. "Then you're not being possessed. Besides, Ron says that you never left your bed. He and Neville saw you thrashing around for a full minute before they managed to wake you up."

Harry nodded. "Really?"

"Yeah, really."

James grinned at his son. "Sirius and I will leave you two alone for a bit. Harry, I think we're going to end up spending Christmas here since its closer to St. Mungo's. It will make the traveling easier on Molly and I think it will make her feel better to know we're so close."

Harry nodded. "Alright, thanks Da."

James and Sirius left the room and Harry turned back to Ginny. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Ginny asked quizzically.

"For being a prat."

She grinned. "It's okay. I forgive you ... this time."

He laughed and kissed her softly. "Thanks Gin."

"You're welcome." Then she brought her lips to his.