A Different Beginning

Chapter LIX - Playing Games

When Harry woke up on September the first, he couldn't believe that it was time to go back to school. He quickly showered and dressed before he made sure that his trunk was packed and then he made his way downstairs. He met Hermione on the stairs and grinned.

"Hey, are you ready to go?"

She nodded. "I can't believe that we're starting our sixth year! That's incredible! The time just flew by!"

He laughed. "I am so not surprised to hear you say that. But yeah, it is pretty neat, eh?"

"What's neat?" Draco asked as he followed them down the stairs.

Hermione and Draco had actually surprisingly got along quite well since she had shown up and Harry was thoroughly surprised. Draco was treating her well enough and not calling her a mudblood or even bothering to mention that she was muggleborn. Harry was pleased to see the change in him and he hoped that he continued on this path of righteousness. Harry had realized that when you really got past Draco's cocky exterior he was well ... nice. He was also a little shy and soft inside. Draco Malfoy as a softie, yeah, it was hard to believe, but he could see it. He had obviously had a harder life then anyone had realized. His relationship with his parents was obviously pretty bad considering the way they had tried to force him into being a Death Eater or death and he had gone to the one person he hated most for help. In Harry's opinion, that not only took courage but a lot of strength. He knew that Draco was scared and he had every right to be. He just hoped that when they returned to school and the time came for him to really be tested he pulled through.

He grinned at Draco before answering his question. "That we're going into sixth year. It just seemed to fly by."

Draco snorted. "At least one of us is looking forward to it."

"Hey, it's gonna be bad, Draco. There's nothing that we can do about it but I think the DA members will protect you a bit when I talk to them. Ted and Blaise are cool like that. Wow, I never thought that I'd say that about a Slytherin." He replied as they stepped into the kitchen.

James looked up when the three of them entered. "Good morning."

"Hey Da! What's going on for the train ride today?"

James grinned. "I borrowed a car from the ministry and we're going to drive there. I guess maybe I should invest in something a little bigger than a two-seater, eh? Anyway, Remus and Tonks will be coming with us since Lexy and Sirius are already at Hogwarts. They have to be there to set up their lesson plans and stuff. Man, Padfoot a teacher ... I don't think that I'm ever going to get over that."

Harry laughed. "I think that he's gonna be a great teacher. Does Snape know he's teaching yet?"

James nodded. "Yeah, I guess Sirius sent him a letter informing him and the git blew up at Dumbledore."

Harry laughed. "He blew up at him? Why? Sirius is a way better teacher then he is!"

Draco shrugged. "I always thought he was alright."

Harry glared at him. "Yeah, but he doesn't pick on you or give you failing marks when you do the assignment right just because he hates you."

James frowned. "I spoke to Dumbledore about that again, especially after you did so amazing on your O.W.L.s and he says that if Snape continues with that this year he's going to be in trouble. He can't give you a barely passing grade when you're doing so well."

Hermione nodded. "It's ridiculous! Harry does so well at Potions and most of the time his potion looks exactly like mine if not better and I get an O yet he gets A. It's wrong."

James nodded. "Yeah, well Snivelis always was a greasy-haired git."

"I still don't understand how Dumbledore trusts him. He's such a git."

Draco looked up in surprise. "Dumbledore really does trust Snape? I always thought it was lie, I mean ... he's a Death Eater. He works for Voldemort."

James and Harry exchanged looks. Draco still didn't know anything about the Order or about Snape being a spy. Dumbledore thought that he should be kept in the dark for a while longer until he actually proved that he wanted to be on this side. Harry couldn't help but agree. He knew how much he hated not knowing stuff but at the same time, they weren't sure how much they could trust him. Time would only tell.

"I don't know. I guess Dumbledore has his reasons." James replied.

Draco nodded. "Yeah, that makes sense."

"So Hermione," James began. "Are you ready for school? Another year as a prefect?"

She nodded. "Oh yes. Prefects have a hard job you know and we must make sure that everyone is kept in line and following the rules and -"

"You know, Granger, I'm a prefect too."

She blushed. "I know. But don't you think that it is a huge responsibility?"

Draco shrugged. "Not really ... but I guess I'll be working a bit harder at it this year ... with Pansy." He grimaced.

James grinned. "Pansy? A friend of yours."

Draco shrugged. "My betrothed, if you must know."

"Betrothed?" James asked in surprise. "I didn't think people still did that anymore."

Draco nodded. "Unfortunately. I hardly want to be betrothed to her. But my parents and her parents arranged it when we were babies."

James nodded. "That sucks. When do you have to marry her?"

"Two weeks after graduation. The day has already been set and everything. I don't want to marry her." Draco whined before he caught himself. "I mean ... hell! I ... I don't want to marry her!"

James nodded. "Yeah I don't blame you. Do you know about the betrothment?"

"What do you mean?"

James shrugged. "Well, there are different types of them and depending on what kind you had, you might be able to get out of it."

Draco brightened considerably. "How do I find this out?"

James grinned. "I'll look into the records of the bonding. If you were blood bonded then the only way out is death. There's no kind of spell or anything. But if you were not blood bonded then there are a few different options. If you bonded based on chastity then you both have to be virgins on your wedding night or the bond is broken. There could have simply been payments. There are so many different ways that the bond could have been done. But for the bond to work it has to be done officially at the Ministry of Magic and signed in the Book of Betrothment. So everything will be listed there. I'll look into it when I get a spare moment at work and I'll let you know."

Draco grinned. "Thanks, Mr. Potter. You have no idea how much I appreciate that."

James smiled. "Call me, James, everyone else does. And it's no problem. Now why don't you guys go upstairs pack the rest of your stuff and we'll head out."

Harry stayed back until Draco and Hermione left the room. "Da, that was nice of you."

James grinned. "I feel bad for him. His parents obviously have never treated him properly and now he's being forced to marry someone that he obviously doesn't care about. Do you know this Pansy?"

Harry grimaced. "Pansy Parkinson? Yeah, she's a cow and she's rude and ignorant. She hangs around him like he's a god and I always knew that he didn't like it but I never thought anything of it. I only just found out that he was betrothed last year."

"It's rough. I knew a few kids in school who had done that as well. Sirius' parents tried it when he was about seven and he cursed his mother so bad she was in St. Mungo's. Now, Sirius' mum was a bitch, but still he managed to get out of it. The betrothment never went through. It's all about keeping the pure blood line pure. It used to be almost mandatory for all purebloods. Many members of our family were betrothed, including your grandparents. But my parents fell in love and were betrothed later on, even though my father was originally set to marry another woman. A lot of families did that to see if there would be love later on in life. You shouldn't have to experience a life time with someone you don't like. But everyone should be free to marry whoever they want." James explained.

Harry nodded. "I agree. Well, I'll go get my stuff."

James nodded. "Alright, the train leaves in less then two hours."

Harry headed upstairs thinking about what his father had said and he sighed. He really did feel bad for Draco. He hoped that his father managed to find a way out of it for Draco. He had high hopes for him and he thought that if he knew that he didn't have to marry Pansy, his spirits would lift tremendously and that he might fight harder. He shook the thoughts from his head and hurried up the stairs, for now he needed to think about the upcoming year.

**********

Harry sat in the train compartment with Draco as the train started off and he grinned when Neville opened the door.

"Hey Harry, how was your sum - Malfoy?" Neville exclaimed as he glanced over at Draco in surprise.

Harry grinned. "It was interesting, Nev, Draco, here is ... well he's on the good side now."

Neville sat down and looked across the seat at Draco. "Um ... okay."

Draco smirked. "Yeah, I'm not going to bite, Longbottom."

Neville shrugged. "Well, I have a good reason to be suspicious, you know." He turned to Harry. "But if you trust him then so do I."

Harry grinned. "Thanks, Nev. So how was your summer?"

"Alright, Gran made me stay pretty close to home now that Voldemort is officially out in the open."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I know what you mean."

"Where's Ginny at by the way? I was surprised not to find her in here?" Neville asked.

Harry sighed. "She's in New York City."

"America?" Neville asked in surprise.

He nodded. "Yeah ... she's studying there for a few months. She's coming back in November."

"Wow, I bet you miss her a lot."

"Yeah, I really do." He turned when the compartment door slid open. "Hey Colin, Dee, what's up?"

Colin grinned. "Not too much, we were just commenting on how quiet it is without Gin."

"Yeah, it is a bit, eh?"

"Harry, are we going to have the DA this year?" Demelza asked.

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I think so. It's going to be more of an official club though and Uncle Sirius, well Professor Black, the new DADA teacher is going to help me out."

"Neat," Colin replied. "It will be more fun. Hey, I ran into Blaise and Daphne. They were snogging like crazy in the hallway."

Harry laughed. "Yeah, I noticed that they finally got together last year. It only took Blaise five years to get her." He looked up again when the compartment door opened again. "Ted, Blaise, Dana, Daphne, what's up?"

Blaise shrugged. "We got your owl. It said you wanted to talk to us about something."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I do. It's about Draco." He pointed over at him and Blaise grimaced.

"Great, the Mal-ferret?"

Harry grinned. "Look he changed ... well he changed sides. There was an issue over the summer and he ran away from home. But I think that the students in your house that used to be his friends are no longer going to be helpful."

Ted nodded. "Tell me about it. When my mum and I deserted his army it was intense." He turned to Draco then. "Mate, good on you for leaving. I've got your back but if you turn out to be lying, then you better watch yours."

Blaise nodded. "Same goes."

"Thanks. I appreciate it. But I really am on the good side. My parents were ... I was being forced to become a Death Eater."

Ted winced. "Then good for getting out."

"Thanks." Draco replied.

Blaise nodded. "Well, we're going to go find a private snogging compartment, right Daph? But we'll talk to you guys later."

Dana nodded. "Yeah, I'd like some alone time with Nott as well."

"See you later," Ted replied.

The four of them left the compartment followed by Demelza and Colin. Neville sighed. "Wow, this is going to be a huge change."

Harry laughed. "You can say that again."

*********

The welcome feast was just as wonderful as normal but Dumbledore's speech was a little more intense. He talked about the issues that had arisen during the summer with Voldemort and how the wizarding community was dealing with it. There were new rules set on the castle about being on the castle grounds and Hogsmeade trips were going to be spread out differently, allowing only so many students to go at once because of the threat. He congratulated Sirius and Lexy on getting married during the summer and introduced the two professor Blacks before dismissing everyone to their rooms.

Harry hurried over towards Draco as soon as the feast was over. "Well?"

He shrugged. "Crabbe and Goyle have obviously been picked to try to convince me to come home."

Harry shook his head. "Listen, Draco, you can't listen to them. This is a decision that you made because you know its right for you. If you go back ... you're not only most likely going to end up dead but you'll be a Death Eater and married to Pansy. We need you on our side."

Draco smiled. "Thanks for the support, Potter. I don't plan to listen to them or anything like that. But they're trying. It's the fact that I share a bloody dorm with them that I'm worried about."

"But you also share a dorm with Ted and Blaise."

"Did I hear someone call?" Blaise asked as he came into step with them.

Harry grinned. "Malfoy's just commenting on the fact that he has to dorm with Crabbe and Goyle who are on his father's list of ways to get him to go home."

Blaise swung his arm around Draco's shoulders. "Stick with us, mate, and you'll be safe."

Daphne came up next to them, rolling her eyes. "Your ego is insane, why am I with you again?"

Blaise laughed and kissed her. "Because I'm sexy and irrestible and you love me!"

Draco rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I'm sure that's it. But thanks for the support, Zabini. I might really need it at some point. But right now, I'm just wondering what will happen when I close my eyes. Crabbe and Goyle can be conned into doing anything."

Harry nodded. "That's a really valid point. You should bring it up to Dumbledore and maybe he can have you or them moved, preferably them as Blaise and Ted also share a room."

"We'll see how it goes. But that's probably the first place I'll head in the morning." Draco replied.

"Alright then. Well, I'm going to my dorm, see you guys later." Harry waved goodbye and headed into the Gryffindor common room. He was half-way up to his dorm when he heard Lavender's voice.

"Please Vat! Do we have to go through this every year?"

Parvati was glaring at Lavender in the corner of the common room. "Yes, we do! I want the truth, Lave. What happened this summer?"

"It doesn't matter." Lavender insisted. "I want to forget about it and I plan to, alright?"

Parvati shook her head. "No, it's not alright. You need to talk about this and get it off your chest."

Lavender ran a hand over her stomach as she nodded. "Not, right now."

She hurried up the girls' staircase and Parvati sighed before she followed her up. Harry wondered briefly what that conversation had been about. He shook it off and headed upstairs to his dorm. Seamus grinned at him.

"Hey Harry, how was your summer?"

Harry grinned. "It was alright. You?"

Seamus grinned. "Same. But I did decide that this year, I'm not letting her get away from me. I'm gonna take the chance."

Harry laughed. Seamus had had a crush on Lavender Brown since third year but every time he managed to get enough guts to ask her out, she was with someone else. Personally, he had always thought that they would be good for each other. "Well, best of luck, mate."

Dean grinned. "If he doesn't make a fool out of himself he'll be lucky. Hey Harry, what's this I hear from Neville that Malfoy's your friend now?"

Harry laughed. "I had an interesting summer. Draco approached me and asked for help. I thought it was a hoax. But his parents are Death Eaters and I guess Voldemort appeared at his house and everything and told him he was to become a Death Eater in so many days and that he had to prepare for it. He decided he didn't want that life and he left. I'm not saying he's no longer a jerk but he knows what he wants and he doesn't want to be on Voldemort's side. He could use some friends and support."

Seamus nodded. "Blimey, he's pretty brave then to get out of there. And he actually came to you?"

"Yeah ... I was pretty surprised myself. But he figured I was the one to go to. Anyway, I'm thinking about making the DA an official sort of club this year and the new DADA teacher plans to help me out. Draco is going to join so I'm hoping you guys want in again?"

"Oh, yeah, of course, mate." Dean replied. "The DA was awesome."

Seamus grinned. "I'm in as well."

Harry grinned. "Great! Well I'm heading to bed, I'm tired tonight."

Dean and Seamus nodded as Harry stripped down to his boxers and climbed into his four-poster, falling asleep almost instantly.

*********

Ginny sat in the middle of the huge bed trying to bring forth her mind concentration. Over the last two weeks she had really managed to get a good grasp on telepathy. She could talk to Emma when she was on the other end of the city. She had explained to Emma the idea that she had about trying to communicate with Harry telepathically and Emma had told her that it could be done but she would need to concentrate really hard until she mastered it.

Now she was sitting on her bed, bringing Harry's face to her mind and trying to think of what he might currently be doing. She knew that it was around eleven p.m. in Scotland and that he would probably be in bed at Hogwarts since it was the first day of school. She brought his face to mind, thinking about his beautiful green eyes and his messy black hair and she thought about how she'd like to talk to him. Then to her surprise, a large lion shook his head and blocked Harry from her view.

She pouted; he was obviously using his elementals to guard his mind. It was smart and she knew it, but she wanted to speak to him. She looked at the lion and quietly spoke to him in her mind.

"Armand ... will you let me in to speak to Harry? You know that I won't hurt him?"