A Different Beginning

Chapter XLII - Conversations and Snape

Ginny stood under the shower head in her dorm room bathroom, letting the hot water beat against her skin. She had gotten involved in a snow ball fight with a bunch of her friends and even with the warming charm that she had used she had still been a bit cold so as soon as the fight had ended she had hurried up and into the luxury of a hot shower. She scrubbed her hair with the strawberry scented shampoo that she loved and knew drove Harry crazy, though that may have just been her scent in general, and turned at the sound of the door opening. She couldn't see who had come in because of the shadowed glass door that blocked both her and others from view. But she figured it was one of her room mates.

"Ginny, are you in here?" Demelza's voice called out.

"Yeah, Dee, I'm in the shower." Ginny replied in surprise. She had left Dee down in the common room arguing with Colin about something or another.

Demelza grinned. "Harry's back and he's looking for you."

"Thanks. I'll go and see him as soon as I'm done in here."

"Okay. He's talking to Colin now anyway." Demelza replied; her voice not as perky and easy going as usual.

Ginny nodded as she began to soap up with her flowery scented body wash. "Dee, are you alright? You sound kind of sad."

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Ginny asked.

"Yes, really."

"Because honestly, you can tell me anything, you know. I know that there are some things that we just can't tell Colin. That one of the girls and one of the guys thing, can really only go so far."

Demelza laughed. "Very true. But really, Gin, I'm fine."

"Okay, if you say so."

Ginny rinsed off and then turned off the shower. She reached around the little bend for her towel and quickly dried off before she slipped into her green furry robe. She stepped out of the shower and looked at Demelza who was standing in front of the mirror playing with her hair. "Dee, really, what's going on?"

Demelza sighed. "Okay, but I think I'm going crazy."

Ginny began to use her wand to dry her hair as she looked at her friend. "Crazy?"

Demelza nodded as she bit her bottom lip nervously. "You can't laugh, okay?"

"Dee, what is going on?"

She sighed. "Okay ... I had this dream last night and ever since I had it I've been looking at ... well ... him, in a different way."

Ginny glanced at her friend quizzically now. "What did you dream and who did you dream about?"

Demelza grinned now, her eyes twinkling with mischief. "Well, I was on a beach working on my tan and just basking in the sun when this really dreamy guy comes over to me and he starts rubbing lotion on my body and I'm absolutely loving it. I mean, I really want him. He's drop dead gorgeous and he's funny and he's sweet. He's so sexy. He takes my breath away."

Ginny grinned. "Ooh, a naughty dream! Those are the best! So who was the lucky guy?"

Demelza laughed. "Colin."

Ginny's mouth dropped open. "No way! Colin was the dreamy, sexy guy! Our Colin? The Colin who supposedly is talking to Harry, right now? That Colin!"

She nodded, biting her lip as this dreamy look came into her eyes. "Yes and he was gorgeous! And all day now I've been looking at Colin in an entirely new light. What is wrong with me, Ginny? Colin is one of my best friends! You are not supposed to think about your best friends like this. It is so wrong!"

Ginny giggled. "You and Colin."

"You said that you wouldn't laugh."

"I can't help it. It's just ... it's Colin." She took a deep breath. "Alright, I'm good now. Well, Colin is kind of cute and he's really sweet. It's okay to have a crush on him, Dee."

"But do I fancy him, Gin?" She asked, a look of concern coming over her face. "I mean, this dream came out of no where and ever since I've had it it's made me think about him but before I never thought about Colin that way."

Ginny shrugged. "I have no idea. I guess you'll have to figure that out on your own."

Demelza sighed. "That's what I was afraid of."

Ginny finished drying her hair and she used a brush to soften the curly waves before she tucked it back behind her ears. "There's nothing to be afraid of Dee. Just work out if it's only feelings that have projected themselves from your dream or real ones. If you give it a few days I think that you should be able to figure it out." She replied as she stepped behind the private changing screen and began to apply her flowery scented lotion to her body.

"I hope so. It's driving me crazy, this not knowing. I mean, how was I supposed to know that feelings could be so complicated. Besides, even if I did want Colin, I wouldn't stand a chance. His eyes have been permanently glued to Mandy Brocklehurst's breasts." She let out a huff of breath as Ginny laughed.

"Very true and a show of remarkably bad taste on Colin's part, but he'll get over it. I think most guys tend to fall in lust with big breasted blondes at one point in their lives. It's natural." She replied with a grin.

Demelza laughed. "I suppose. But it doesn't make me feel any better."

Ginny smiled warmly at her friend. "Dee, you are way prettier then Mandy. You've got pretty hazel eyes and hair so dark brown that it looks black. I think that you're underestimating yourself. And don't forget, you're still a year younger then us in age and two years younger then us in school. Give Colin time if you decide that he's what you want. He's slow."

Demelza smiled. "Thanks, Gin. You're the best. Well, I've got some last minute homework to finish up so I'll let you go so that you can beautify yourself for Harry."

Ginny laughed. "Alright, I'll talk to you later, Dee."

"Bye."

When Ginny was finished she changed out of her robe and into a baggy Pride of Portree jersey that she had stolen from Bill and a pair of black satin pyjama bottoms. She brushed her teeth and then she headed into the common room to find Harry. She didn't see him when she came in so she headed over to Colin.

"Hey Colin, have you seen Harry?"

Colin nodded. "Yeah he just went up to his room."

Ginny grinned. "Thanks." She stole a quick glance back at her friend. His bright blue eyes were filled with excitement as he looked over the photographs in front of him and his bright blonde hair was tousled from his fingers. Colin, sexy? She giggled to herself, poor Dee.

She hurried up the boys' staircase and knocked on his bedroom door. She heard him mutter a 'come in', so she stepped inside and she almost swallowed her tongue. He was standing with his back to her in nothing but a pair of blue striped pyjama bottoms. His torso was bare as he was rummaging through his trunk for a shirt. She licked her lips and closed the door behind her, her heart pounding in her chest. She hadn't seen Harry without a shirt on since the summer when they had went swimming. He had definitely filled out a bit more.

"Well, I didn't expect to get such a nice show."

Harry turned to look at her and grinned. "Hey, that's what they pay me for."

She laughed. "I bet." She walked over to him and then she stopped in her tracks. His back was still facing her as he searched through his trunk and it was only now that she noticed that his smooth skin had tiny white scars in jagged lines in random places on his back. They seemed to disappear lower beneath his pants as well. She wondered why she had never noticed them all those times when they had gone swimming at Potter Manor. "Harry, what happened to your back?" She asked; her voice filled with concern.

He tensed and she could see him tense up immediately. His voice held the tone of embarrassed impatience when he spoke. "Nothing."

She slipped her arms around his waist and placed a kiss on the center of his back. "No really, what happened?" Her lips gently brushed against each scar and he shivered under her touch.

"Don't worry about it, Gin."

He pulled away from her and quickly pulled a white t-shirt over his head before sitting on his bed and leaning back against the headboard. Ginny climbed into bed with him, planting herself between his legs so that she could lean back against him, his arms wrapped around her waist.

"Why won't you tell me?"

"It's in the past and it's not important." He replied, his voice sharp.

"Well, it's important to me. Who hurt you?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Harry replied. His body had tensed up again and she could feel him getting angry.

She nodded. "Fine."

He nuzzled her neck, brushing her hair out of the way and inhaling the scent of flowers and strawberries that came from her body. She responded by pulling away from him a bit. He sighed. "Ginny, come on."

"Come on, what?" She replied coldly. "Fine, I won't mention it. So what happened today?"

He sighed, dragging his fingers through his hair in frustration. "Alright, I'll tell you."

She grinned and turned her head to kiss him softly. "I won't think any less of you."

He nodded. "Promise me that you won't tell anyone else, ever?"

She nodded, looking and feeling more concerned by those words. "I promise."

"Okay. Well, after Voldemort tried to kill me he, well ... you see, he hurt my mum, really bad. He tortured her so badly that she was paralyzed from the waist down and had no recollection of anything. She didn't know about the muggle world or the magical world and she didn't know who anyone was, including my Da."

"Oh, Harry, I'm so sorry." She replied as she kissed his cheek.

He nodded. "Well, Da was absolutely devastated. But after everything happened and Dumbledore arrived at my house they thought my parents were dead. Da had been knocked unconscious and his pulse was so low that they all thought that he was dead as they did my mum. So Dumbledore took me to live with my mum's sister, a muggle, my Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon and my cousin Dudley Dursley. When Da woke up and he realized where I was he wanted to bring me home to take care of me but Dumbledore convinced him that I would be safe with the muggles because he had to take care of my mum. Da and Uncle Remus took care of her together. She needed constant care, twenty-four hours a day. She was a danger to herself and to others. Da says she almost killed herself a few times with accidental magic and things like that." He explained.

Ginny kissed his cheek. "That must have been terrible for James and Remus. They were probably heartbroken. Not to mention that you weren't there either. That must have made it a lot harder on them. So you lived with muggles then?"

"Yeah, until I was five. Da sent money and gifts and letters but he never came to visit me because he couldn't leave Mum. She was too much to handle and Da and Uncle Remus had to be with her all of the time. Most of the time they both had to be there as she was too much for just one of them to handle for more then a few minutes. Well, my aunt and my mum didn't get along I guess. She wrote letters to my Da telling him that I was fine but she never showed me any of his letters. I never got any of the gifts that he sent me as they went to my cousin Dudley and I only got toys when Dudley didn't want them anymore or because they were broken and I never knew that Da was alive. They told me that my parents had died in a car crash."

Ginny gasped. "Why would they do that?"

Harry shrugged. "Who knows? So, I wasn't allowed to ask any questions about my parents. I lived in a cupboard under the stairs and I cooked breakfast or some of it; I cleaned the house; I weeded the garden; and lots of other chores that five-year-olds wouldn't normally do. I lived with them for four years. They told me that I was a freak and everything that went wrong was my fault. Well, Dudley was a bully and he made sure that any friends I made at school were beat up badly enough that they realized that it was dangerous to be my friend. Dudley hit me once with a baseball bat. I don't remember exactly what I did but I remember Uncle Vernon taking the bat from Dudley and taking over the beating and then I remember him taking off his belt and the leather smacking my skin until I bled. Da healed as much of the scars as he could. But I'll have these forever."

"Oh Harry! Merlin, I'm so sorry!" She snuggled back against him, curling into his lap so that she could hold him closer to her as tears poured down her cheeks. "What horrible people! Did James kill them?"

Harry laughed. "No. He did punch Uncle Vernon though, but at that time he didn't know about the beatings. When he came to bring me home it was right after Mum had ... and I had no idea who he was. But like I said, it's in the past. I don't want to think about it." He wiped the tears from Ginny's cheeks and he realized that he had never really had anyone cry for him before. He pulled her closer and sighed in contentment, glad that he had gotten that off his chest.

Ginny nodded. She ran her fingers over the smooth skin on his hands which were wrapped around her and gently traced the rough skin where Umbridge's detentions had scarred him. He had suffered so much. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's not your fault."

"I know. Okay, let's think of something better ... like how did your day go?"

Harry grinned. "Pretty well. Da and I went through some Occulmency books and I think that I might get a better grasp at it this week. I told him about Snape and Dumbledore says that he will talk to him. And even better news. Guess what?"

"What?"

"Sirius did it. He wore O'Bryan down and last I checked they were snogging each other senseless in the kitchen at Grimmauld Place."

Ginny laughed. "No way! How did he do it?"

He grinned. "By sending her a gold and diamond locket that sings The Beach Boys 'Wouldn't it Be Nice?' She came storming into the kitchen demanding to know what his problem was and why he would send her something so ridiculous and he just stands up and starts singing the song to her. She shut him up with a kiss."

Ginny laughed. "Oh, I bet that was good to see!"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, especially when Da and Uncle Remus started singing along in the background."

"They didn't!"

Harry laughed. "They did! I almost cracked a rib I was laughing so hard and then I joined in too."

Ginny laughed. "You sang?"

Harry grinned. "Sure. I can sing, not good mind you, but I can sing."

She giggled. "Wow."

"I know. What about here? Did I miss anything interesting? Colin told me something about a giant snow ball fight."

Ginny nodded. "Yeah that was fun. Too bad you weren't here."

"I wish I was."

"I've got bad news too."

Harry glanced down at her in surprise. "What kind of bad news?"

"Hagrid's on probation by Umbitch."

"What?"

"Yeah, so now it's going to be a competition over who will be sacked first, Hagrid or Trelawney. Two guesses over who I'd choose." Ginny replied.

Harry shook his head. "I hate her! She's taking everything from me! Letters from home; Quidditch; and now she wants to take Hagrid - what is wrong with her?"

Ginny reached back to run her fingers through his hair and pull him down to nuzzle her neck. "She's Umbitch. And she can't take everything from you. You'll always have me."

He grinned as he kissed her softly. "Good. I love you."

She smiled. "You know, I don't think I'll ever get tired of hearing that."

Harry laughed. "I hope not."

She grinned. "I love you, too." She reached up to kiss him softly. "But it's late and time for me to go to bed before all of the boys come up."

"Do you have too?" Harry asked as he slid his hand up her jersey to dance his fingers along her stomach.

She nodded. "Yeah."

He boldly slid his hands a bit higher and his eyes darkened when he realized that she was absent a certain piece of clothing. Her head rolled back in pleasure as his hands roamed over her breasts beneath the jersey. Her skin was so soft and so smooth. He leaned down to capture her mouth with his. She moaned as soon as his lips touched hers, sliding her hands up his tee shirt so that she could touch skin. He deepened the kiss, sliding his hands around her back and out to slide through her hair. Ginny moaned and pulled away.

"Harry, I've got to go to bed now."

He titled his forehead down to hers. "You're trying to torture me. Coming up here without a bra on. Now I'm going to be wondering how many other times I've been in a room with you when you were absent that piece of clothing."

Ginny gave him a wicked grin. "Oh, that's not the only piece of clothing I've been known to miss."

His eyes darkened and he reached for her to pull her close for another long kiss.

The dormitory door opened and Ron stepped in. "Oy, Potter - what are you doing in bed with my sister?"

Harry grinned as he cuddled Ginny closer to him. "Trying to convince her to stay a bit longer."

Ron eyed them suspiciously but since they were both fully dressed he seemed to be happier. "Well, no, out Gin, it's late."

Ginny rolled her eyes before she kissed Harry softly. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Harry watched her go before he turned to Ron. "We were just talking. I told her that O'Bryan and Sirius are finally an item."

Ron grinned. "Stubborn old dog."

Harry laughed as he slid his bed curtains closed. "Yeah he is."

*******

Starting the next morning, Harry began his new physical training. He woke up two hours earlier then usual so that he could suit up and do his sit-ups and push-ups before he ran around the Black Lake. He then went into the Room of Requirement and imagined it as a work-out room. He was supplied with some punching bags and some dummies to practice his fighting techniques on. He immediately set to work. When he was finished he had forty minutes left until breakfast was over so he showered and dressed for the day before he prepared himself for class.

Harry had also continued to work on his mind blocking with his elementals. They had been helping him out every night before he went to sleep but he knew that he wouldn't know if he had actually achieved anything until his next lesson with Snape. So when Wednesday came around he headed down into the dungeons and prayed that his hard work hadn't been for nothing. Snape looked up when he walked in.

"Close the door, Potter."

Harry did as he was told and took a deep breath as the door clicked shut and then he turned around to face Snape.

"Well, have you been practicing?" Snape asked with his usual sneer.

Harry nodded. "Yes sir."

"Hmm, well I guess we'll see, won't we?" He replied as he again took memories out and placed them in the pensive on his desk. "Interesting conversation I had a few days ago, Potter. Something about Dumbledore accusing me of not teaching you how to properly do Occulmency, or so he says you say."

Harry nodded. "Well, it's true. Da asked me how they were going and I told him that you didn't tell me how to block my mind. You just invaded. I didn't know that he was going to talk to Dumbledore about it."

Snape sneered. "Well, let me tell you something, Potter. I am the teacher and you are the student. That makes me in charge and that makes me know what I'm doing. I am the one teaching you Occulmency so don't accuse me of things that you don't understand. I'm trying to help you not get killed by the Dark Lord. You think that you would show me a little respect."

Harry glared at him. "The Dark Lord, eh? Why is it that you call him that? His name is Voldemort or Tom Riddle. I only heard Death Eaters call him the Dark Lord."

"Do not speak his name!"

"Why? Dumbledore says his name. My father, my godfather, and my honourary uncle speak his name."

Snape only continued to glare at him. "I said, do not speak his name!"

Harry shrugged, anger building up inside of him. He took a deep calming breath to prevent himself from cursing Snape and instead focused on keeping the flimsy wall that he had managed to build with the help of his elementals up. He knew that it had to be stronger but for now it made him smile to think that he had something. "Fine."

Snape pointed his wand at Harry. "Legilimens!"

Harry could feel the slight prodding and pushing on his mind but his wall was staying up and the idea that he was keeping Snape out even if only for a moment pleased him. He kept eye contact with the greasy git as he worked on keeping that wall standing. He grinned when Snape fell back against the desk, breathing heavy.

"Well."

"Well what?"

"I see that you've obviously practiced. I never got past the wall."

Harry grinned. "I know. But I sure as hell didn't learn how to make that wall from you! I read some books on it and Dumbledore gave me some advice."

Snape sneered. "Yes well, again. Legilimens!"

This time, Harry's wall fell through. He could feel the invasion slide through the wall in his mind but this time he wasn't bombarded with memories. This time nothing came to the surface because his memories had been so meticulously filed away. This time, blue-white power flew from his fingertips, causing Snape to fly back against the wall. He gulped as he came out of the trance. Snape stood up, rubbing his head.

"You idiot! What did I tell you? You don't use your wand you use your mind! You're not learning anything at all!"

Harry shrugged. "I'm not an idiot. You're an asshole! And I'm sorry that I didn't succeed on my second lesson! I bet it took you a hell of a lot longer to learn that!"

Snape glared at him. "How dare you, Potter!"

Harry shrugged. "I dare."

"Fifty points from Gryffindor for your cheek."

Harry clutched his wand tightly in his hand. "See you next week, sir." He replied before slamming the door behind him and heading back up to the common room. He didn't care what the hell Snape did to him. He was done for the night and that was that.